The Ashes of Time
by Foxinstrazt
Summary: A year has passed since Lara Croft survived the hellish nightmare of Yamatai, and her physical recovery is nearing it's end. She lives comfortably with her closest friend and fellow survivor, Sam. While she struggles with how to tell Sam she wants to leave again, a man from her past approaches with an irresistible offer. [Story is Complete]
1. Prologue - Graves

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the following writing except the characters and events I create.**

* * *

Prologue

**-Graves-**

**_Galeforth Tower, New York City_**

**_March, 2014_**

Ashlee Graves stepped down into the maelstrom of chaotic wind, leaving the relative calm of the helicopter's cabin. Holding the briefcase firmly, he moved towards the door that led down into the building, feeling the leather handle cut into the calloused skin of his palms. Twisting the knob with his free hand and throwing the portal open, he stepped in. It was amazing how quickly the noise and fury was cut off as he entered the building, the bright sky cut away into the dull gray stone. He kept a hand on the door until he felt one of his companions take the weight, resuming his quick pace down the metal stairs.

It was only three flights down to their destination, the only sounds to welcome them were the echoing footsteps of four people as they moved. Taking the door with the bright blue 'Stairs Entrance' icon painted on it, he took his first step in a long while onto soft carpet. It was the simplest thing that gave him a great sense of relief, a semblance of civilization, a rest for the well traveled. At the end of the long hall, a short secretary with blonde hair jumped as he and his companions appeared.

Given their appearance, he could not blame her, the frightened expression plastered on her face as they approached causing a twinge of regret. They passed office after office before they stood at the small desk. "C-can I help you..? You need an.." Her eyes wandered to his left, and a small whimper escaped through the young woman's lips. "..appointment to see Mr. Galeforth."

Watching her eyes snap back to him, he summoned the most dazzling smile he could under these conditions. "Your boss is expecting us, though we aren't on the guest list." He suspected the grin he gave did little, but the secretary composed herself enough to manage a nod, knowing better than to pry into business that was off the books. The small exchange over, he slid past the desk and continued upon the original path.

Heavy oak double doors swung open to announce his arrival, and reveal the penthouse office of his employer. A tall man stood by the window that looked down on the city below, dressed in an immaculate black suit. His hair was dark on the top, but graying on the back and sides, the signs of age worn into his features as he turned to greet them. "Graves! I'm glad your associate was able to get you out. Minimal trouble?"

Looking over his torn and ruined clothing, Ashlee let out a small chuckle. "This isn't my blood, Quinn. Still, I shouldn't return to China for..well, ever."

Quinn Galeforth shared in the laugh, nodding excitedly as he moved to the desk that sat proud in the middle of the office, a throne to the controller of an empire. He looked over the four of them with a calculating gaze, studying each like an old keepsake that he had deemed lost forever. "You all look terrible."

"Prison will do that to you." Taking the briefcase in both hands, Ashlee sat it down on the polished surface before opening it towards the other man. "As promised. It was right where you said it would be." He watched his employer reach towards the contents within before faltering, wonderment in the sapphire-colored eyes.

"The legend may well be true.." Straightening himself and running dainty hands over the fine suit, Galeforth pried a hand away from the clothing and closed the briefcase. "We will need a translator, the best money can buy! You ought to know someone in your line of business, Graves, no?"

Letting out a breathy laugh, he gave a nod. "Quinn, I think I know just the person for the job. Though it might take some convincing."

* * *

_My heel slams into the iron bore, and the rotten supports give another minute inch. The vibrations reverberate through my leg, tearing the already torn muscles and causing even more bruises to form beneath the surface._

"_..Come.." _

_Another kick. _

"_..On.." _

_Another failure._

"_..You.."_

_Another shot of pain up my leg._

"_..Bastard!"_

_Crying out with desperation, my boot connects with the bore again, filling air with cracking wood. The supports give in mercifully, and the cannon snaps from it's position enough that I can adjust it. Another pained moan escapes as I set my foot down, the ankle roaring in defiance of the action, the sprain making itself apparent. Hooking my hands around the lip of the iron barrel, I lift with all my strength and move as quickly as I can to aim it at the mast._

_Yells are becoming louder from the way I came to this ship. Solarii. They are getting closer and shouting about what they will do when they catch me, the most pleasant of which is simply killing me. Lighting the torch in my hand with a swift motion, the flames spring to life, and I pray the powder I packed into the cannon is at the very least somewhat dry._

_Touching the torch to the small remnants of a fuse, it sparks faster than I had anticipated. I don't even have time to curse as I run as well as I can with my ankle. A shattering boom replaces the sound of the shouts, leaving my ears ringing and a dull throb in my chest. Splinters shower the entire deck of the old vessel, digging into the back of my arms as I cower and protect my face. _

_The entire vessel shakes from the vibrations, and as I turn to survey my efforts, I see the after effects of the plan. Sea water rains down on the deck from the side, the iron bore now sinking to the bottom to join other parts of countless shipwrecks. Even in my deafened state, I can tell that I've succeeded simply by feeling the wood buckle and break under it's own weight. The mast falls forward, more to the side than I had wanted, but it crashes into the other ship just the same. Sprinting for the edge, I scramble over my makeshift bridge._

_Then I'm stopped, my leg exploding into agony and pitching me forward onto the main deck. Screaming as I look down, I can see the rusted arrow jutting out of my shin, blood already seeping out onto the rotten surface beneath me. _

"_She doesn't get away this time, Brothers." The voice is above me, impossibly close. It's chilling, to hear that voice again. Mathias. I roll over, my hand flying to the gun holstered at my hip, but his boot pins it against my waist. "Not this time, troublesome girl." His sneer is triumphant as he raises the staff above his head, it's point aimed at me._

"_..Sam." My last thought is of her, the image of the raven haired girl failing to block out the pain as the crude weapon punctures my chest. I try to scream, but only blood answers my call, bubbling up from my throat. For a moment, I almost think I can hear her voice._

"Lara! Wake up, Lara!"


	2. Chapter 1 - Memories of Light

**Author's Note: First off, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. It's always a joy to know someone is interested, and it's what makes this worth it! And thank you all for reading! I'm not sure if I'm going to do the rest of the chapters at this length, but here is the first of (I hope)many! Enjoy, and let me know what you think! -Foxinstrazt**

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Chapter 1

**-Memories of Light-**

_**Sam and Lara's Flat, London**_

_**April, 2014**_

"Sam!" I bolt up from the mattress beneath me, falling right into the waiting arms of another. I can feel the soft material beneath me, the warmth of a familiar skin against mine, but I can also feel the burning pain that was thundering through my chest. I can feel the terror as I fell toward the deck, the utter sense of failure that filled me knowing that Sam would suffer because I couldn't get to her. My hands claw at my chest in a futile attempt to stem the flow of blood from a wound that isn't there. I know there is no wound, but I cannot stop, the pain is too much.

I can see the drops of tears left on my lashes through a tide of new ones rising, confusing me even more as reality fails to fill in the blanks for my body. Breath is coming to me in short, panicked bursts as I cling to life. "Lara, sweetie, calm down! Please calm down!" Sam's hands are on my shoulders, keeping me from falling back onto the bed as I suck in another useless breath. The words seem to reach me in a way my own thoughts cannot, as my hands stop their frenzied tear at my chest, leaving the white fabric of my shirt intact.

I reach back to support myself, gripping the sheets until it hurt my fingers as I fight against my wayward lungs. It was starting to feel hopeless, as my heartbeat only quickened with the struggle, and each breath came shorter and faster.

It is the small things that bring me back;

The shaft of sunlight that burns away the shadows from our bedroom;

The smell of fresh rain that comes with my first slow intake of air.

It was morning, and I was not in Yamatai. I'm in London, with Sam. _Sam.._ The girl sits by my side, framed by the sun that shined behind her like the glowing beacon of summer after a long winter. Dark bangs fall over her face, obscuring some of the cute features that have become so much more familiar to me in the last year. Raising a shaky hand, I sweep the strands of rogue hair away from her face and tuck them behind a small ear, unable to resist the grin I get while looking upon her. "I'm okay. I'm back. I'm here." _Am I? I guess it's better to just believe that._

A small smile forms as she pulls me close, her arms wrapping around my neck. I feel the gentle touch of her lips against my forehead, despite the sweat I'm sure clings to my skin. I reach around the small waist of my friend with one hand, surrendering into the embrace with my entire being. Each breath no longer brings panic, instead inhaling the earthy scent of this girl who has cared for me each day since that hellish island, and I enjoy the subtle touch of her natural smell beneath it all far more than I should.

I could keep her here for a long while, if I wanted to. I know I could, she's taken whole days off of her film projects simply to hold me and keep me company, something I'll never be able to repay her for. It's Sam; The whole reason why I've been able to claw back to sanity in the wake of everything that happened. But still, I lean away, letting her go while feeling the pain in my chest replaced with a sinking pit of heartbreak.

"Do you want me to bring breakfast to you?"

The question surprises me, as most meals we've shared have been in one of the fancy restaurants someone or the other recommended, or simply a coffee shop down the street from our flat. The chance of eating in is a rare change of pace from Sam's incessant attempts to get me 'out and about'. "No, no. I'll get up." She nods, understanding as always, and steps up from the bed. Her hand lingers on my arm for a second longer than the rest of her, carving the lines of a fire into my skin, the warmth of it giving me the strength to hold my smile as she walks out of the room.

The second her body is through the open arch that leads out into our kitchen area, I slouch down into my own lap, shoving the covers off of me to run a hand down my left leg. The skin is unbroken and no scar is present on my calf to announce that I was ever pierced with an arrow. The dream, and the pain that came with it, were as real as what I actually experienced. I can remember that day well, the running from Solarii, the pain in my ankle after I broke the wooden supports the cannon was mounted too.

_Mathias was not there. I was not shot. I was not shot. I made it across the mast and got away, the ships crumbled into the cove and were bashed to pieces against the rocks._ Swinging my legs off of the bed, I shake loose the last vestiges of the dream, praying that it doesn't sink it's claws into my thoughts for the rest of the day. My pants lay discarded on the floor, right where I left them the night before. Black cargo pants. _Black. Sam is right, I do have no sense of style._ Despite my own thoughts, I tug them on up over my bare legs, past the scar tissue on my left thigh. Sliding off the edge of the bed, I fumble with the zipper for a longer time that I should, it's teeth getting caught on one another as I turn.

I finish the button with a sigh, my eyes trailing up over the room, and the stark contrast between the two beds that lay within actually brings an audible note of surprise to my throat. Sam's bed lies on the opposite end of our room from mine, made with a neatness that she had never displayed in our dorm back at the University. Mine was a nightmare, or at least the representation of one. Twisted sheets that were torn out of where they had been tucked in the night before, the pillows uneven and their cases half falling off.

_Sam..I'll never be able to thank you enough for putting up for me, and I'm not quite sure how to apologize for the war zone you have to live in, sleeping in the same room as me. _Turning to leave, I take a moment to enjoy the sunlight that fills the archway leading out of our room. It's warm, even coming through the windows that line the wall across the flat from me. It hadn't been my idea to get an apartment with a grand total of four doors, but my flatmate had insisted that it had a great feel about the place, perfect for recovery. It was stagnant, driving me up a wall most days and making me feel cooped up. Everything that happened with the Endurance, and Yamatai, had done little to diminish my need for adventure, to prove myself in the world. My father's work was still out there, but I couldn't very well pick up and leave Sam here. Not after everything she had done for me.

The floor changes from the shaggy carpet to tiles that chill my feet within the first few seconds of stepping on them. Sam is by the stove, gathering the ingredients for whatever breakfast she has planned, and from here I can see the way she is shifting her weight from foot to foot in time to the soft music playing. So many things she does bring a smile to my face, the subtle ways she injects joy into her life like it was the easiest thing to do. I lean on the counter, over one of the large bar stools. "So, what's on the menu?"

Sam turns, her skin, one of the lightest shades of brown I've ever seen, was glowing and flawless in the light of morning. "Pancakes. I seem to recall you really liked them before we graduated. And.. I figured we could both use a break from bad coffee and stale danish for our first meal of the day, yeah?"

A chuckle escapes from my mouth, and I nod in agreement. "It'll be nice to have a meal with just the two of us." My eyes are glued to Sam's, but my ears still catch the lines of the song that is playing.

"_-ken wings, and make sure everything's alright. My pressure on your hips, sinking my fingertips into every inch of you, 'cause I know that's what you want me to do!"_

Even as I begin to notice the soft red glow that falls upon her cheeks, I can feel the burning of a blush creeping up over mine. Sam turns back to setting out the ingredients, letting out a coy giggle as she reaches over to press the skip button on her iPod. I look away, anywhere but her, but my eyes eventually come to rest upon my hands. Though now calloused and scarred in a dozen places, the way I have laid them on the surface below me reminds me of a memory I haven't thought about in a long while..

* * *

"Oi, girl! Another beer."

Lara makes an annoyed noise as she finishes pouring the two shots in front of her, looking down the bar at the man who was yell. "One second please!" The Nine Bells was packed tonight, with the football match in town done and over with only an hour ago. She moved quickly to pull a beer from the cooler beneath the counter, using the edge of the bar to pop the top off and hand it to the gentleman and scooping up the pounds he set down in payment. "Leo, we're out of beer down here, is there a case upstairs?" While opening the register and adding the cash to it, she turned to face her boss, who was serving a couple of patrons over at the tables.

"Should be!" It was a bit ridiculous that they had to shout across the small space the bar took up, but necessary when it was this busy. "Go check it out, I've got this covered for a tick."

Nodding, Lara moved out from behind the bar and turned up the stairs, jogging the short distance to the top. The three doors presented were usually closed, but the one she was heading into was already open. Thinking nothing of it, she stepped inside and flicked the light switch. Despite the bulb that hung to life by a thread and sat loosely in it's fixture above her, it was easy to make out one of the two forms writhing in surprise on the bed Leo kept in here for the drunks unfortunate enough to pass out. "Sam!"

"Lara! I-I can explain!" Pushing free of her exertions, the small girl was a disheveled mess. Her jacket was nowhere to be seen, and one side of straps on her tank top were pulled down past her shoulder.

"No, no! I just need a case of beer and I'll leave you to your.. er, thing." She blocked the part of the room with the bed out of her sight with a hand, bending to picked up the case she came in for before turning on her heel to exit as quickly as possible, despite the stuttering explanations of her friend. Trotting down the stairs two at a time, she spun around the corner and ducked back behind the bar, feeling the flushing in her cheeks.

Annoyance surged through her as she placed the beers into the cooler as quickly as she could, the feeling's source unknown to her. The effect was building and leaving an itch in her limbs that made her want to do anything she could at the moment. Straightening, she leaned on the bar wearily before looking up at the newest customer. "..Roth!"

"Hello, Lara." The older man scratched at his gray beard, the scruffy appearance he had carried since she had known him had grown more rugged since she last saw him. "Can I get a whiskey?" He made a sign with his thumb and index finger, keeping it the relative size as a shot.

Pulling up a glass and bottle, she poured it for him, trying to ignore the feeling that had dug in and was festering in her limbs. As the amber liquid reached the top, she reached down and brought the lip of the glass to her mouth, draining it in one gulp. It burned as it went down, but filled her chest with warmth in it's passing. Squeezing her eyes shut as the effects rolled over her, she opened them again to see Roth watching her with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong, girl?"

Setting the glass back down, she wasn't pleased to find it had failed to evaporate the anxious feeling that she was struggling against. "I..I just feel like something needs to happen." She placed another shot glass next to her's, and filled them both with the bottle in her hand before setting it aside. "I need to put my mind on something, I need to put my knowledge to the test." She looked down at her hands, studying them with a frown.

Taking the glass from the bar, Roth raised it up and downed it with significantly less difficulty than she had, making a noise of satisfaction as he finished it off. "Y'know, I might have something coming up.."

* * *

_Roth.. _Every time he crosses my mind, I remember the expression on his face when the axe buried itself into his back, and the helplessness that I felt. I remember the last dying coals of the pyre we set for him. He died to make sure I'd have a chance to get off the island, and I'm supposed to find a way to reconcile that with myself. _Good luck with that._

Despite the slightly awkward silence that had fallen over me and Sam, I try to come up with something to say, just to say it and take my mind off of the friends I had lost. I open my mouth, about to ask an innocuous question about the pancakes when there is a knock at the door. Sam turns and looks right at me. "Can you grab that?"

"I got it." I flash a smile at her as I push off from the counter and stride towards the other room. Our flat isn't exactly a palace, just two main rooms separated by a couple doors, a bathroom, and an open bedroom. As I reach the front door, I rise up on my feet a bit to peer through the peephole. On the other side from me is a man, only a few inches taller than I am, and he doesn't look much older. His hair is light brown, cut short in a messy way. His eyes are a soft hazel, more green than brown, as he checks his watch and nods to himself.

Turning two of the locks on the door, I leave the chain lock on and pull the door open as far as the chain will allow. "Can I help you?" He is dressed in jeans and a white shirt with sleeves that come down just past his elbows. The watch on his wrist isn't an expensive one by any means, it's leather strap worn and cracked.

"I'm looking for Lara Croft." His eyes find mine and he gives a warm smile, the right side of his lips pulling up more than the left to create a lopsided effect. He looks me over quickly, narrowing his eyes for a moment. "And here you are, I barely recognized you. What's it been, three years? Four?"

My head tilts in confusion. "Do we know each other?"

He laughs, and it's the kind of laugh that makes me want to smile, a genuine laugh. It reminds me of my father's. "We met once. I've actually got a job to offer, may I come in?"

"No." The answer is automatic to me, something I feel like I've practiced a thousand times. Sam always makes an attempt to get me to trust other people, but she doesn't understand what Mathias did. He tricked me, and took her. _I could have ended him the first time I met him, every instinct in my body screaming to do so. But I shook his hand instead. _Trust is a slow scar to fade.

The man shrugs, a look of mild bewilderment on his face, like he hadn't expected my answer. "I can't really take no for an answer, you're the only one who can help me."

"With what?" My voice carries a tinge of annoyance to it at his persistence.

"I've got a few artifacts inscribed with a dead language, I need them translated." Leaning back on one foot, he looks back down at his watch, as if time were passing too quickly. His eyes trail back up to meet mine. "And you're the best."

"How could you possibly know that?"

He looks as if he doesn't understand my question. "You found Yamatai." _As if it were a huge accomplishment._ "And I've followed your career; your schooling and field work quite closely. Keeping an ear to the ground on the up and comers of any profession is important in my work."

His dodging of giving me any real answer is beginning to fray my already weak patience. "And what kind of work is that?"

"Mostly the same kind as your father, and your mentor. Late as they are, I offer my condolences for their passing. Richard was a good man, as was Roth. I miss them both." The first real answer he gives me sets me off guard, the way his voice dropped the assured confidence behind it and the smile faded away. It flashes back in a second as his eyes find mine again. "We can play twenty questions or you can let me in."

I reluctantly push the door closed, unhooking the chain from the lock and opening the door all the way. "Lara, who is it?" Sam's voice leads me to the other room, the man following me in. She is looking over at the door when I walk through, her look turning from questioning to one of confusion as our guest enters behind me. "Who're you?"

"Sam, this is..I don't know, but he says he knew my father, and Roth." Sam's eyes glance to me at the mention of both of them, concern flooding the dark orbs as she does.

"My name is Ashlee Graves. And yes, I worked with her father, and Conrad, for a half dozen years. I even met Lara once, though she has forgotten." He moves past me and walks over to the stove where the griddle is bubbling with the melted butter on it's surface. "May I?" His request is met with taking a bowl of eggs and a whisk from Sam, who looks over at me, looking lost.

My only answer is a incredulous shrug, shaking my head at his actions. He cracks another egg to add to the bowl before he begins whisking the parts together, turning to face us. "Like I said, I have a job for you." Sam and I, taking the stools across the counter from him, look back to him as he talks.

"No." Sam's answer is immediate. "Lara doesn't want to go off on some adventure somewhere."

Ashlee quirks an eyebrow at me, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of us. "This isn't a job that requires her to go anywhere, unless she wants to." His gaze returns to me, and I can feel Sam's upon me as well as I try to keep a neutral expression about the whole thing. The thought of another expedition is as exciting as it is terrifying.

"What kind of job, _exactly_?" He doesn't answer my question, instead turning back to the food, finishing the mixture for the batter and beginning to pour it in small pools on the griddle's surface. Once the bowl is empty, he sets it aside and spins back to face me, leaning against the stove.

"It's a simple translation job, that could lead somewhere incredible. Translate what I need, and you get paid. Simple as that. You tag along, you get a share in what we find. Not that I think money would sway the heir to the Croft fortune." There is a silence that lasts a long minute as he watches me, eventually turning his body back to the pancakes to flip them over quickly.

"This isn't exactly legal, is it?" Sam asks in a matter-of-fact way, her voice quiet enough to warrant me glancing over.

Turning to look at the girl next to me, he gives the same smile he had at the door. "Nothing I do ever is, Sam. Do you really not remember me?"

His eyes slide over to me as he poses the question, and I shake my head after a moment of thinking. "I'm sorry, I really don't."

Ashlee shrugs, not showing any disappointment at my words but instead lifting his left arm, showing Sam and I the back of his forearm. It is decorated with a tribal tattoo, the way the waves spin amongst it telling me that it is Samoan in origin. But what he is really showing is the scars that tear through the black ink, jagged and rough in a strange formation. I do remember those, a memory buried under the ordeals of the last year.

* * *

Days at the Nine Bells usually followed a set pattern, and even though she had only begun working a few months ago, she had caught on quickly. Boring and slow in the afternoons, but picking up in the evenings and launching into full swing around midnight. Today had only one difference for Lara, the man who had come in a few minutes after opening time, ordered a beer and set up shop near the wall with his laptop. He was cute, in an American way, his hair carrying a lazy style to it and his clothes looking like the stereotypical tourist. Something was off about him to her though, the look in his eyes that told her he had been up too many days in a row.

"No, Ali, listen. You've got to turn down the left and.. No, there isn't a dead end that way. Would you just listen?" He was speaking into the phone in his hand, his expression growing to a hilarious measure of annoyed as Lara brought him another beer. "Ali. Ali! Don't hang up on me, I-" Closing the flip phone with a sigh, he looked up as she laughed.

"Girfriend problems?" She opened the bottle using the counter and slid it across to him, grinning as she did.

"She's more like a sister to me, and problems would be putting it lightly." He shared the grin with her, surrendering a small chuckle. "She can handle herself though, so I shouldn't worry so much." Opening his wallet, he slid another tenner across the counter to her, as he had done every time she brought him another drink, nearly double what it actually cost.

"Well, just let me know if you need anything else." He gave a nod, opening his mouth as if to say something, and looked at her in the strange way he had all night. It was an expression similar to seeing an old friend you had a falling out with. Despite his strangeness, he had been tipping well all night and had been a source of good humor, better than the raucous crowd that was too drunk to care how much trouble they were causing.

As the night wore on, and night turned into morning, the bar grew less and less crowded until only the American and two other men remained, one of them a regular. Lara was busy wiping up the bar as it winded down, not noticing the man meandering over before his shadow fell over the particular stain she was attempting to wipe away. Looking up at him, he spoke in an accent that clearly marked him as Irish. "You've been 'ere all day, Lara, lemme take ya home." Slurred and carrying the heavy scent of alcohol on his breath did little to endear him to her, as she shook her head.

"Jack, again, no." She met his eyes to make sure her refusal was clear before looking back down at her work. "Not tonight, not ever."

"Come on, whens the las' time you shagged?"

Setting down the rag and sighing as she looked up. "Not long enough ago, it seems. Jack, just get out."

"Now hear me out-"

There was the sound of a laptop closing as Jack opened his mouth to protest. "Lady asked you to go." The drunkard turned to face the other man, who was looking over from where he had been sitting most the night. "No need to press the issue."

'Typical American, stickin' your nose where it don' belong. Lay off, you tosser."

Standing from his stool and walking over, the American got close to Jack with a grim half-smile set upon his lips. "She told you to get lost."

"Wait, it's really not any trouble, he does this mo-" Before Lara could finish, the Irish man threw a heavy punch towards the man, connecting into his face and pushing him back a few feet. The man took little time to recover before launching forward and hitting the drunk in the side of his jaw, throwing him against the bar from the force of the impact.

Lara moved out from behind the bar, glaring at the men. "Enough! Take it outside!" Both men stopped in their tracks, Jack from his place holding on to the bar to remain standing, and the American holding his hand in pain, looking over at her as she spoke.

The American then raised his hands in a shrug, dismissing the fight immediately and turning away to collect his laptop. It was the moment his back was turned that Jack's friend shattered the bottle in his hand and charged the other man, who turned just in time to raise his arm and take the cutting edge of the glass against it with a cry of pain. The man moved quickly, grasping the other's wrist that held the weapon and the back of his neck, moving out of the way to slam the attacker head first into the bar.

Jack, recovered from the blow he had taken, pushed past the man and helped his friend up and out the door in a stumbling pile. It left the the American alone with Lara, clutching his forearm in an attempt to stop the blood that was flowing between his fingers and onto the floor as she moved over. Her stomach did a turn as she saw the carnage, the skin around a tribal looking tattoo was torn in a half dozen places, but it didn't seem to have cut through any of his veins. "Come on, there's things I can dress that with upstairs."

The edge of annoyance to her voice did little to put him off, as he grimaced in pain. "I'd appreciate it." Following her up the stairs, his breath came out through clenched teeth, and she could hear him cursing quietly. Entering the room on the left, she moved him to a chair and sat him down, turning to bring up a bag marked with a white cross on a green background. He placed his elbow on the table's surface, his arm laid down to give her a good angle on the wounds.

It looked worse than it actually was, still managing to make her queasy as she took a bottle of antiseptic and screwed off the top, dousing the cuts in the liquid. The man's face contorted as it burned away on his cuts, but kept quiet, tapping his foot on the ground as it burned. Watching him as she replaced the lid on the bottle, she shook her head. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

The burning seemed to subside quickly as he opened his eyes and studied the wounds. "Well I didn't do it for you, he's been on my nerves all night. 'Aye I shagged the girl der, and der, and dat one too!' ..Gets old quick."

She couldn't help but laugh at his terrible attempt to mimic the Irish accent, taking the tape from the bag and taping the thick piece of gauze down against his arm. "You know, I never got your name."

He looked up from her work to look right at her. "You didn't, I never gave it." Scoffing, she finished the makeshift bandage and pressed down on it harder than she needed to, bringing a glare from the man as she did. Despite her treatment of him, he reached into his pocket and pulled forth a wallet, different from the one he had used to pay earlier. "Here, this should cover any damages and pay for your excellent medical service."

Looking the wallet over, she stared at him in surprise, her mouth partially agape. "This is Jack's. I can't take this."

Rising and testing how the bandage held to him moving his arm, he moved toward the door before looking back with a grin. "Well, I can't take it. That would be stealing." With that, he left the room, leaving Lara standing alone and confused at his antics. After a moment, she heard the bell above the door chime to announce his departure, and jogged back down the stairs. His laptop was gone from by the wall, Jack's wallet having taken it's place.

* * *

"You're the one who took that broken bottle!" I feel my mouth actually fall open with the revelation, and I can see Sam getting a bit excited at meeting the guy from the story I must have told her a hundred times.

"And now you know my name." His grin only grows as he turns back to the griddle and scoops the pancakes onto two plates, growing quiet. "At least think my offer over, will you?"

"Why should I, because you bled all over the place I used to work at?"

"Not at all." Turning to face me, his slid the two plates down onto the counter. "Because it is a lot of money to not have to travel anywhere for, and even more if you do decide to travel. And, I made you breakfast. That has to count for something. Look, just mull it over, it'll be an hour before what needs translating arrives here." He turned to leave the kitchen, heading for the door that lead back to the main room.

"Wait!" I turn on the stool to face him as he stops and looks back with that same grin he had given me before walking out of the Nine Bells.

"I can't, there are a million other preparations that need to be made in case you can translate it. But don't worry, I'll be back for your answer. Think it over, Lara. And Samantha, a pleasure meeting you." He took the first few steps to the door backwards as he spoke, eventually spinning on his heel to leave.

I turned back to Sam as the door closed again, who wore a small smile on her face. "I like him."

The scoff that comes from me only serves to widen her smile as she moves to take a bite of the pancakes she has drenched in syrup. "He's a tad arrogant, I think."

Sam gave a low moan of pleasure as she swallowed the bite. "Oh, he has a right to be. The man can make a damn good pancake." I'm not as convinced, turning to look at my food. I bite into my lower lip gently, the offer Ashlee proposed to me sounding like a way to get out of the routine I've thrown myself into.

* * *

I wash the remnants of syrup away from my plate before placing it on the other side of the sink alongside Sam's, who had finished a long time before I did. The offer Ashlee gave me still hung on to my mind, overriding almost everything else. I turn to face Sam, who is standing there watching me with a smile on her lips. "Do you think I should take the job?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Do you want to?"

Her question confuses me. "What do you mean?"

"Look, you've only done a little in the last year." Sam moved closer, taking my hands in her's and looking right into my eyes, it was the sort of contact that turned the furnace on in my chest and made me feel wide awake. The kind of reaction on she could create in me. "I understand the few months after Yamatai, that it was hospital after hospital and that you needed to find a way back to who you were, and that taking it easy is another step in that process. But..it's been a year, and it is getting to the point where you won't even think about leaving our place without me specifically asking."

I look down, away from the dark irises that are filled with pain as she sympathizes with me. Guilt rises within me, at the fact my own problems were causing her pain, that I had shut off my fear so well on that island that it came back with a vengeance, and I had allowed it to take control. "And I'm not saying this to hurt you, Lara, but it is worrying me. I don't want that island to take you from me." _From you?_

I look back up at her, frowning as I tried to share in the strength she had displayed every waking minute since that place. From the moment I had collapsed into her arms aboard the ship that had rescued us, to the day I had walked out of the last hospital, she had been by my side. She had bore the weight I could not, something I resolved to change in that moment. "You don't need to decide right now. Go take a shower, it'll help you think." She takes my hand and leads me out of the kitchen area, straight to the door to our bathroom.

"So what you are saying is that I smell, Nishimura?" My response brings a joyous laugh from her, making the self-deprecation more than worth it.

Squeezing my hand before letting go, Sam only gave me a wink in response to my question. "I'll grab you some clothes to change into, okay?"

I lean on the frame of the door as she is walking away. "Sam, do you think I should take the job?"

Unlike earlier, she turned and gave me the answer she had wanted to. "I think you should, but I also think you should do what you want. Just do _something_, Lara, okay?" I smile at her response, nodding before ducking into the bathroom.

* * *

I was pulling the black tank top Sam had left for me over my head when I heard the knock at the door, hurrying to stuff my hair back into a ponytail, the strands still wet from the shower. "Lara, Ashlee's back!" Pushing the bathroom door open, I stepped out into the hallway, moving quickly into the main room. Ashlee was holding a briefcase, and had brought someone.

"Hello again, Samantha. Ah, Lara! This is my friend, Alison Terra." He barely glanced in my direction, holding the door open for his friend. Alison was only an inch or so shorter than Ashlee, her eyes easily the most noticeable thing about her. They were a brilliant green that shined out next to her fair skin, while her hair was a much more subdued brown color, cut short to fall along her ears in a pixie fashion. She wore a thin, white jacket over a pink shirt, while her jeans were faded and worn. Like Ashlee, she carried a briefcase. "So, Lara. Have you decided?" His eyes settled on me, awaiting my reply.

I nod, glancing over at Sam, who is grinning like a fool at me. "I have, I'll do it." Setting down the case he was holding on the table between our two couches, Ashlee looked pleased enough that he was able to get the answer he wanted. Alison sat her case next to it, moving to the windows that made up the wall on the opposite side of the flat, her eyes surveying London.

"You guys have a nice place." She moves to peer around the corner into the kitchen, and our bedroom. "And only one bedroom.." She looks between Sam and I with a playful grin, at our shared blush, her eyes finally setting on my friend and appraising her in a way that makes jealousy claw at my throat. "Interesting."

I push down the glare that I want to give her, and the urge to say something to pull her attention away from Sam replaces it quickly, but Ashlee distracts me first, opening the briefcase he sat down and spinning it to face me. Inside is an old tablet, cracked in a hundred places and worn down by the centuries it must have spent in the world. I'm compelled to lean forward, all thoughts of Alison purged from my mind as I run a gentle hand over the surface of the artifact. The symbols etched into it's face are familiar, yet strangers to my eyes. "Ashlee..this isn't a dead language. This isn't a language at all. I don't recognize any of these. I don't think I can translate it."

"Everyone else I went to with this said the same thing, but now I have another piece of the puzzle. I came to you this time, because I know you can solve it with both pieces. After all, you are a Croft." I half expect him to be joking, but the expression dominating his features is serious, and I look at the other case as he opens it. Inside is a page of aged paper, rolled on the ends and torn, indicating that it was originally part of a scroll. "I managed to procure this from a military vault in China, a year or so ago. They were excavated during the Ming Dynasty, supposedly in present day Kazakhstan."

* * *

How gently Lara handled ancient writings was always a strange sight for Sam. It was like watching a mother cradle her child, and it brought a smile to her face. For the first time in a long time, Lara was actually happy, not lying to cover up the memories that always stirred below the surface. Her work had always done this to her, so much so that they had even met with her nose buried in a book. It was then and there she had decided to make life interesting for her roommate.

"It looks similar to a language I studied for one of my classes, based in central Asia.. I might still have some books laying around that can help me." Lara's voice was tinged with excitement, and the way she bounded up off to the bedroom was endearing enough that even Ashlee gave a laugh.

Sam was turned away from the scene by a tap at her shoulder, turning to find Alison close to her. "Hey Samantha, got any tea or coffee, I think we might be here a while."

"Oh, Sam please. And yeah, um.. Just look in the cupboards above the stove." She pointed through the door toward where she was talking about.

The woman touched her shoulder with an appreciative smile on her lips, moving past her. It was the feeling she was being watched that brought Sam's eyes back to where Ashlee was sitting, his eyes studying her as Lara's had been studying the artifacts. "Thank you. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time."

Nodding as he turned to look in the direction she had ran off, the casual grin returned to his face. "She is the best at what she does because she loves it so."

"So, 'Ashlee', what's the deal with that name?" Sam attempted to change the subject away from any truly prying questions about the relationship between her and Lara, a relationship she wasn't sure she could explain or defend if anyone ever actually asked.

The man let loose a hearty laugh, leaning back into the couch cushions as he did. "No real story, just that my parents were sadists and wanted a girl." His laugh faded into a chuckle before disappearing altogether, as if a sobering thought had crossed his mind. "I'm going to ask her to join us, when she finished the translation. You know that, right?"

"She's suffered enough without running off on another adventure, and don't act like you didn't see the scars." Sam glared at him, balling her hands into fists as he met her furious gaze with an even more infuriating calm one of his own.

"It's Lara's choice." Shrugging, Ashlee gave a sad frown. "The sooner you both realize that she needs to make her own choices, the better. It's not doing her a favor to hide from the past, or from the future. Take that for what you will."

Lara re-entered the room with a half dozen books in her arms, miraculously managing to hold one open and read it as she did, drawing Sam's gaze. "Saka is the language connected to central Asia-" She ran her shin into the couch, stopping for a moment to look down in surprise before stepping past the furniture. "It's a mixture between ancient Chinese and.." Dumping the books down onto a clear part of the low table, she sat and turned a page in the book she held. "..the language of the Scythian people. It's technically the Khotanese dialect of Saka."

She looked up at Ashlee, who held a look of excitement upon his face. "So..you can translate the paper?"

"Scroll, actually. See these tears at the ends, and the way the whole thing is curved? It means it was part of a larger scroll. Hopefully what we need is on the part that remains." She opened another book, reading through it quickly before nodding. "And yes, I can translate it. But that isn't even the most exciting part."

With a laugh, the man across the table leaned forward to look down at the books. "How is that not the most exciting? This is the first progress I've made on this whole thing since I recovered the..scroll."

"Well, Saka is a descendant language that came from Scythian, which was a Greek-Iranic language, based in Western Asia and parts of South-Eastern Europe. On a hunch, I looked into a book I haven't touched since my father was first teaching me about history." Opening a much larger tome, she sat it down on the table, prompting Sam to move in closer. "Look familiar?"

Ashlee ran a hand over the page, his brow furrowed as he studied it. "These look similar to the symbols on the tablet, what language is this?"

"Ancient Greek, specifically Ionic Greek, which was the language predominantly featured in Athens." From where Sam was standing, it just looked like gibberish, but she couldn't deny that smile that Lara was wearing, the same she had when she had figured out where Yamatai's location might be. It brought a smile to her face as well.

* * *

The hours passed quickly for me, my eyes growing sore from studying the minute details of the scroll and writing down notes on the sheets of paper that now lay scattered across the floor. A noise of frustration comes from me as I finish the latest part of the script's translation, setting down my pen with more effort than I needed to. "What is it?" Ashlee's voice brings my eyes up from the paper to him, sitting back on the couch going through one of the books I had brought out. _My eyes must be playing tricks, he's on a different one then earlier..that'd make three._

He was still alert and on task, each noise I made prompting another question from him. "Since this is wrote in the Khotanese dialect, it should be from the late six hundreds to early seven hundreds of the Common Era, but it is referencing another story." Bending to gather some of the papers from around my bare feet, I lay them on the table. "It is written like a fable, about another fable."

"What do you mean?" His eyebrows furrow as he strains his neck to read my notes.

I point to one of the sheets. "Well, the author is a scribe in the Kingdom of Khotan, at the height of it's power. He tells of a...place, I can't make that part out, that came under siege from their neighbors. Knowing they could not win the war, they hid away their treasures in a faraway land to keep it safe from their enemy. Here's the interesting part though; The enemy is described using an Ionic Greek symbol, meaning 'the Owl', or rather, Athens."

"'The Owl'..How is that Athens?" His hazel eyes glance from paper to paper, trying to find where my conclusion came from.

"The owl was a sacred symbol of Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom in Ancient Greece.. She was also the patron goddess of Athens." Sliding the paper he was looking for over, I slam my finger down on the part of it filled with the translation. "The scribe called it the 'Flood of Athens', meaning that whoever was the enemy of the city was probably vastly outnumbered. And that isn't even all of it. There are references to a writing where the scribe got the story from."

"That would be the tablet." I look over at him, and his shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. "I'm just guessing.. I'll leave the archeology to you." Laughing, I move to take a drink of the tea Alison set out for us, taking a quick sip. I cough with the realization the drink is almost ice cold, finally realizing just how much time has passed since the two of them arrived. The world outside is filled with lights in the distance, but pitch black covers every area not already lit. Glancing around, I cannot see either Sam or Alison in the room, but I hear them chattering from the kitchen before my attention is turned back to Ashlee. "So can you translate the tablet with what you know?"

He moves the case containing the tablet closer to me, looking hopeful. I can understand, dealing with a mystery for years and suddenly having it become so close and so real. Yamatai had been that for me. Nodding as I pull the case over, I run through the symbols, eventually stopping with my finger over one. Moving between the scroll and the tablet, I bite my lip as I struggle to figure out the connection.

"What's wrong?"

"This here is the same symbol for Athens in Ionic Greek, same as on the scroll. But this symbol." I tap my finger against it. "Is displayed on the scroll as well. It isn't any type of Greek I know of, but it is clearly the ones who fought against Athens. If I knew what it meant, I could explain the connection between the two..but it doesn't seem to have any meaning." With two fingers on each symbol, the scroll and the tablet, I look up at Ashlee, who is smiling in the same way he did when he first came to my door. "What?"

"I know what it means, and it's the reason my employer is paying a fortune for the translation." Standing, he moves around the table to look down at the symbols with me, he takes a long moment before looking back to me. "It means: Atlantis."


	3. Chapter 2 - Promises

**Author's Note: Well, looks like I can't write a small chapter to save my life. As it's been pointed out, I do know my pacing sucks. It's more of a lack of content and wanting to get to the main story than anything else. Translating a language that technically doesn't exist into one that is basically dead in a day, makes total sense, right? I'm sorry if that bothers some of you, but it is going to be slowing down later on. Also, this one didn't exactly go as planned, as I wanted to make the relationship seem vague and maybe use Ashlee as a potential relationship point, but I decided against it after the first part of this chapter(mainly because this is my first attempt to actually show a relationship past friendship in any writing of mine, and partly because OC/Lara Croft just doesn't feel right after playing the game again), and went ahead with what you see here. Hope you guys enjoy it! -Foxinstrazt Update(1/22): Changed a part where I referred to Alison having a ponytail. She does not at this point, her hair is instead a short pixie cut. Update(2/6): Fixed an error in the location. I had switched Sam and Lara's names around, making it different from the first chapter.. which I found annoying.**

* * *

Chapter 2

**-Promises-**

_**Sam and Lara's Flat, London**_

_**April, 2014**_

Silence had fallen over the room in the wake of Ashlee's revelation, something he had expected. When Quinn Galeforth had told him that he had spent the better part of two decades compiling data to locate the lost city, he had thought the man was crazy. But when he revealed what he had learned, that a artifact supposedly from the myth had been dug up in Egypt, he was sure that the man who had been his benefactor for years had finally gone off the deep end. He kept thinking Quinn was insane up until he held the actual tablet in his hands.

"Where'd you get this?" Lara's question was not the one he had expected, as he met her gaze while he moved back around the long table that sat in the middle of the room. Her slender hands traced over the carvings into the ancient stone carefully, as if she were afraid to rub out the information, losing it forever.

Easing himself back down onto the cushions of the couch opposite her, he leaned forward to look over the papers that covered the table. "My team and I stole it from a museum vault in Italy. They never had any idea what they had been sitting on the whole time they had it." He could feel the excitement build in his own chest as he told of the journey that had led him here. "The research told us that the tablet had been found in Eastern Asia, and taken with the spoils of war by a conqueror from the West. It's trail was lost to history at that point, but it was dug up by archeologists in the late thirties, near Giza."

"There is no mention of any of this in any of the texts I've ever studied. Atlantis has been a myth for centuries, with no evidence coming forward to prove otherwise. How could you track this all down?"

Chuckling as he leaned back into the couch, Ashlee grinned at the woman across the table. "It's amazing what someone can do with nearly unlimited funding. But I'm not the one who did it."

Nodding as if she had anticipated his answer, she began to shuffle papers around aimlessly. "Speaking of, I'd like to know who exactly I am working for. You've been suspiciously cryptic on that account."

"The man who hired me, and by extension, you, is Quinn Galeforth. You know of him?" Lara's ponytail swung as she shook her head, dislodging a few more strands that fell about her neck. "He was always very wealthy, with his parents both coming from families that had wealth stretching back generations. But, he finds his fortune in the exciting life of buying and selling artifacts from ancient cultures. I've regularly been in his employ since even before I met your father."

"And these artifacts.. did you find them, or steal them?" She looked up from the table and held his gaze. Despite her words, she didn't seem to be judging him, unlike others who had learned of his profession.

"I'm a thief, not an archeologist, Lara. I've never found an artifact without the help of a specialist, like yourself." Finally breaking away from her stare, Ashlee ran a hand over the back of his neck with a sigh as he sought to deter the subject away from his life. "How quickly do you think you'll be able to translate the tablet?"

Lara's eyes returned to the stone, speaking quietly. "The first three lines of the tablet shouldn't take long at all, most of the symbols are close enough to Ionic Greek, but the final three don't look familiar at all. There's something else, too. It's written very simply, almost as if it was meant to be read by a child who didn't have a full grasp of the nuances of the language."

"Why do you think that is?" He found himself leaning on the end of his seat to see as she wrote another line or two on the paper closest to her.

"It could be because the tablet was meant for any survivors of the attack mentioned in the scroll.. Or, they might have intended the story to fall into hands that could actually read it without being Atlantian. No one wants their legacy lost to the world."

"'Atlantian'?" He spoke with a subtle tone of teasing behind his words, but it was lost on the woman as she looked up at him.

"Makes sense, doesn't it?"

Ashlee found himself at a loss for words, unable to form a strong enough counter argument. Shrugging and giving a slight nod of his own, he had to agree with her. "I suppose it does.."

* * *

"_'Apollo's rise to lead, land in the midst of sea, a haven warded by our dead.'_" Lara's voice was the only sound in the room, which was once again crowded with Sam, who looked like she was just now coming to terms that they were trying to decipher a tablet from the lost city, and Alison, who was listening from over by the windows. "_'Goddess' curse take us, to join Atlantis in the underworld.'_ Erm..this part seems to be referencing their legacy, but it doesn't actually tell what they are leaving behind. My guess would be the tablet."

"So, it doesn't tell us where to find Atlantis, or the treasure?" Ashlee spoke up for the first time in what had to be an hour, drawing Lara's attention to him.

"Not on it's own, no. Which supports my theory that there was another writing that whoever was transporting the treasure left behind somewhere in Eastern Asia." She shuffles through the pile of papers in front of her, looking for the one she needed before pulling it free. "The scribe in Khotan must have come across the other writing, and copied down what he could make out. Luckily for us, the scroll mentions that whatever the scribe copied off of was found during a raid on the Amami Islands. Due to the relative isolation of those islands in classical antiquity, it's possible that the writing was left behind and stayed there until the Khotanese attack. As for Atlantis..there's no mention of it's location in either of them, except that it fell."

Her eyes went from Ashlee, to Alison, and finally resting on Sam, who was sitting on the couch near her. The collective confusion of the room was enough to tell her that they had not followed her train of thought. "'Apollo's rise to lead.' In Ancient Greece, Apollo was believed to ride a flaming chariot across the sky during the day, giving light to all the land. The sun rises in the East. The Atlantians left the Amami Islands heading East, leaving behind a clue on where to follow them, and came across land that they..I guess believed was protected by the dead souls of their people."

It dawned on them as Lara spoke, and while Ashlee felt a smile form on his lips, he could see that Sam looked a little more downcast next to her friend. "Which means that our destination is somewhere East of Japan.." Alison was the first to speak, moving to lean on the back of the chair near where she had been standing. "How is that possible, you'd think any number of people would run across the island if it was anywhere in that area. It'd be on the maps."

"Yamatai wasn't." Sam's contribution to the discussion was spoke in a quiet voice, and once again Lara's eyes moved over to her, looking as if she was trying to decipher what was going through the smaller woman's head.

"Well, I'm sold." Ashlee leaned back into the couch he was sitting on, feeling the lack of rest in the back of his eyes, every movement seeming to bring a new pounding in his head. "Great job Lara, I knew you could do it."

Lara went to mumble her thanks, only making a soft sound before a yawn overtook her, announcing her exhaustion as the excitement of the night began to peel away. "Maybe we should turn in for the night, I think we've worked the poor girl enough for one day." Alison spoke while gathering up her jacket from the chair in front of her.

"Finding a place at this time would be impossible." Sam stood from the couch and moved to the doorway that lead towards the bedroom, turning to look back at them. "Go ahead and take the couches."

"Uh..thank you, Samantha. We appreciate it." Ashlee watched as the girl took off towards bed, avoiding the gaze of her friend, who still sat on the couch with a look of confusion on her face. Lara rose with the obvious intent to follow her friend, but he stopped her by speaking up again. "Lara, have you decided on coming with us?" He moved off from the furniture he was occupying to stand at the same level as her, watching as uncertainty took over her features.

"I..Well-"

"Stop running." Her words had brought the response from him with such a force that he actually surprised himself.

Lara looked taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what happened on Yamatai, but I can see that you're letting it control you. It's time for you to come back to the world.. I need you on this expedition." The silence that fell over the room was deafening, and a glance told him that Alison was listening to them intently, a disapproving frown displayed on her lips. Lowering his voice, Ashlee continued. "Your father contributed immensely to rediscovering history, and now it's your turn. The world needs a Croft."

"My name does not define me." The words came out of her mouth in a growl, jarring him from his point for a split-second, and for the first time since he arrived in London he felt like he was talking to the real Lara.

"No, but it seems as if Yamatai _does _define you." Her angry expression melted into something more akin to shock, looking away from him quickly enough that he felt a pang of guilt course through him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"..Goodnight, Ashlee." Lara turned away from him, still avoiding his gaze as he let his arms fall to his side with a sigh, watching her close the door to the next room behind her.

The quiet sound of a chuckle brought him to look over at Alison, who was shaking her head. "Smooth, Graves, real smooth. Get some sleep before you go kick a puppy or something." Moving over to the couch he had been sitting on most the night, he collapsed down onto the cushions, finding it hard to disagree with his friend's assessment.

* * *

"_This girl, she carries the blood of this land; she could be the key.. The ritual of flames will show us the truth!" From where I hide, I can hear Sam's muffled cries against the binding over her mouth, tied against the crude altar the Solarii have constructed. "Himiko! You are the first and the last, speak to us now!"_

_I move out of my hiding place as the man with the torch approaches my friend, drawing the arrow I have notched in my bow back and taking careful aim. Letting go, the arrow flies true, past Mathias and into the face of the man behind him, the torch falling to the ground. The leader of the Solarii yells in surprise, turning to face me as I ready another arrow, aiming as quickly as I can for him. Two scavengers are approaching me from the gathering around the altar, and I hesitate just a second too long._

_I let the arrow go, but even as I do, I know it will not find it's mark. The wind is knocked out of me as the Solarii's shoulder connects with my abdomen, throwing me over him and down onto my back. I can feel the wound where the bar impaled me explode into pain once again as they ready their fists."You killed our brother!" A fist slams into my face, clouding my vision as I try to defend myself. "Now I'm gonna kill you!" His repeated hits break skin, and I can feel blood begin to find it's way down my face._

_One of his hits lands right in my stomach, and the wound already flaring in agony doubles it's screaming. "Enough! Dimitri, Nicolai, bring her to me." They strip me of my weapons, even as my body fails to respond to my pleas to fight them. My breath comes in ragged gasps as I'm dragged before Mathias, forced to look up into his face, to witness the madness that gleams behind his eyes as he grabs my ponytail. "Every creature in nature will turn and fight when it's very survival is at stake, so don't think I don't understand you, girl. I've just been doing this a lot longer." _

_He lets go and my head drops, the aching coming from around my eye only seeming to grow more painful as time wore on. "Ready yourselves brothers, our queen is about to speak!" Sam is screaming from behind her gag as Mathias yells to the gathering of Solarii, and I strain to look up at her, bound to the altar above the pile of wood. "Speak to us, Himiko, speak to us through the flames!"_

"_Sam! No, no, no, Sam!" Her screams grow louder as the wood is set ablaze, the flames licking against her boots. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, just look at me. Look at me, okay?" My words do little to calm her, but she does look at me, and I feel my failure begin to burn in my chest. The wind does not pick up, and the flames are growing with every second. I keep eye contact as long as I can, her screams turning into inhuman screeches, drowning out my sobs and desperate pleas._

* * *

Someone is on my bed, the small shift rousing me from my nightmare. I can feel the cold air against the sweat that has drenched my body, the reaction from a memory that bordered on nightmare. It takes a moment for me to lean up, looking down at where the movement originated. Sam is sitting there, and the relief that floods me is reminiscent of when the wind howled through the cave, banishing the fire that would consume her from the altar.

"You're going to go, aren't you?" Her voice is quiet as she speaks to me, sounding almost monotone. "But I don't want you to." Sam is avoiding my gaze, I can see that as my eyes adjust to the absence of light in our room, but even as I notice, her chestnut-colored irises find mine in the darkness for one single moment before she looks away again. "What should I do? Because if I ask you not to leave, you will regret it. But if you do.. I-I'm not sure you will want to come back. It'll be adventure after adventure for Lara Croft from there on out!"

Her words are catching as tears of frustration form in her eyes, and her statement seems so ridiculous to me that I want to chuckle and playfully punch her shoulder as she has done to me so many times. But I know what it is that has brought this on, the one subject we have avoided since the island. _I couldn't stay away from you, Sam. _Rising from off of my elbows into a sitting position, I have no words to assuage her, instead settling for touching her cheek softly.

My body reacts on instinct, sliding down the smooth skin to rest my fingers along her jawline, pulling her face to meet mine. For a second, I am somewhere far away, trying to figure out what exactly my plan is, but then I am back in the moment, simply giving in to my movements. My lips meet Sam's the way I remember her's meeting my cheek in those long weeks I spent in a hospital bed, full of warmth and with no expectations forced upon the receiver. Loving and gentle, a reminder that I was there for her, for whatever she needed.

It lasts longer than I had anticipated it would, but shorter than I want it to, and I pull away from her with a small, ragged breath. Though the tears still cling to her lashes, the shock written on her face has clearly overpowered the crying. I try to search her eyes for any clue to how she was going to react once the moment faded away, eventually giving up as I find nothing and lean back from her. "Was I wrong to assume that..?"

Her answer comes in an even more unexpected way than my comforting did, as she tackles me back into the bed. Soft lips find mine amongst the maelstrom of our bodies, the desperation behind them telling the tale of how long she has held back from this, same as I have. Wrapping an arm about her waist, I twist to take the top position, the wants I have suppressed in the last year exploding out as I take in everything about the moment: The warmth of Sam against me, the taste that lingers from where her lips have touched mine, the beating of my heart; rapid with a feeling other than terror for once.

Both of us are breathing heavily when I finally break away, falling down into the mattress next to her. I can see the outline of her chest rising and falling with a strong effort behind it, just as I can feel in my own body. Sam is the first to break the silence as she looks over, a smile on her face that is much wider than any I have seen in a long while. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

"So have I.." My response dredges up what Ashlee had said to me about Yamatai, and how I had let the island define me. "I.. buried it with everything else, but now I'm back. And if I do leave, I will come back, because you are here."

Exhaustion begins to filter out the rush that came from our outburst, and the toils of the day swiftly catch up to me. Sam seems to suffer the same reaction, as her next words are spoke softly, slurring together sleepily as she rolls to wrap her arms around me, draping herself over my body like a declaration of possession. "I'll hold you to that." With my arms settling about her waist, I can feel myself steadily falling into sleep for the second time that night.

This time, I don't dread what is coming.

* * *

The light coming through the windows on the wall across the flat from the bedroom finally wake me, warming the covers I had lightly draped myself in to a point where they were uncomfortable. Using my free hand to push the covers off of me, it takes me a moment or two to realize that I was in the same position I had fallen asleep in. Blinking the shadows of sleep from my eyes, I look down over myself, confusion setting in on the sight of entangled limbs.

I can clearly see my legs, the bare skin almost bright against another exposed limb, this one tan with a soft golden tone about it. _Sam. _My eyes lazily follow the leg to it's own, tracing over the slender body lying next to me. The sight of her brings a giddy feeling, and I can feel the grin that has spread over my face as my eyes settle on the spiky mess of black hair topping her head. Carefully extracting myself from the embrace, I use one elbow to prop myself up next to her, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as the surprise of having not woke up in a wasteland of sheets and blankets slowly fades away.

Sam's hands move up past her face and toward the headboard as she twists her back in a long stretch that ends in a contented sigh, falling back into the mattress before her eyes flutter open and find mine. "Hey there." My words come with an edge of sweetness I didn't know existed, spoken softly enough that it sounds like a caress more than a greeting.

"Hi." A lazy smile forms on her face as she looks over at me, looking happier than I have seen her since the day we left the island. She doesn't seem to question waking up in the same bed as much as I did, instead moving herself closer to me and wrapping her arms about my waist with a mischievous giggle. Before I can ask what she is up to, I am pulled atop her, having to place my hands on either side to steady myself and avoid tumbling off the edge of the bed that is much too small for both of us.

Laughing as I straddle the girl beneath me, I look down at her, at the gorgeous face that somehow seems even prettier with messy hair. Sam's smile fades for a second, and she sniffs with a confused expression. "Why does it smell like coffee?" Arching my back to turn my head, I look into the kitchen, seeing Ashlee milling about in the refrigerator, the coffee pot sitting atop the counter behind him bubbling as the dark liquid slowly fills it's container.

I turn back to Sam with a sigh. "It's Ashlee, we should probably get up." Her lip turns over in a pouting expression as I begin to lean back, and I am about to say something to voice my own complaint about leaving the warmth she brings when I am pulled back down into her. One of her hands snakes it's way around my neck and holds me to her as she kisses me, her lips parting to close about mine.

She holds this position for a long while, her bare leg gently rubbing against one of mine, and the thought of leaving the bed is purged from my mind. Playfully pushing me back from her, Sam breaks the kiss with another of her soft laughs that spell trouble to come. "_Now_, you can get up."

I laugh at her antics, rolling over and swinging my legs off the side of the bed before setting my feet down onto the soft carpet and rising from the mattress. Pulling open one of the drawers of the dresser in front of me, I pull out a new pair of pants, these ones are the color of darkened sand. Slipping into them is easy until the waistband is against my thighs. It takes a bit of wriggling to pull them up to the height of my waist, and after I succeed, I glance back at Sam, who is watching the ceiling with an overly innocent expression on her face, and a blush tinging her cheeks.

Grinning as I step past the bed, I look back once more as I hear her begin to rise from the covers, the sight of her turning my stomach in a flip. "Good morning." Ashlee's voice brings me about, as I enter the kitchen, clearing my throat in embarrassment. He is looking right at me, the same lopsided smile on his face that he seems to wear at most times, giving no indication to what he might have seen or heard. "I hope you don't mind..I thought I'd repay your hospitality for letting us crash here last night."

Looking over the scattered ingredients, I can't really figure out what he is going to make as I nod. "I don't mind, and Sam really liked your pancakes, so I don't think you'll hear her complaining. Where's Alison?" I glance around, seeing no sign of the woman.

"Ali is a very heavy sleeper, and I've found that waking her before coffee is ready is.." Ashlee tilts his head from side to side as he searches for the correct word, eventually settling his gaze back on me with a nod. "..unwise." I find myself chuckling with his joke, and the noise seems to surprise him enough that I notice, noting how clear and joyful the sound coming from me is. His hazel eyes slide past my shoulder to the room I emerged from, and I know what question is coming. "Have you decided, then? This is the time I need to know, because once I inform Mr. Galeforth, we'll need to leave and prepare immediately."

I stare at my feet before looking over to the bedroom, where Sam is emerging in loose pajamas and still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Even in the light, with her hair still spiking out in random directions and the makeup she wore long gone, she is beautiful. "Sorry, don't let it ruin breakfast. Can you go wake Ali for me?" Ashlee's voice behind me draws me out of my gawking as I turn and nod before moving to the other room.

The mess my translations caused is still covering the table like a disaster zone, and Alison is draped over the edge of the couch she is sleeping on like she fell down and twisted around in her sleep to find the position she wanted. With a small chuckle at the absurdity of her limbs placement, I reach down and gently touch her shoulder. "Alison, wake up."

She starts faster than I anticipate, rising into a sitting position before holding her head with a groan. Her eyes glance around the room before settling on me. "Ugh, coffee?"

My laugh again fills the air, and I can hear why her friend had been surprised to hear such a sound from me. It is bright, and not at all like the hollow, breathy sounds I've been making the last few months. "Ashlee has everything ready for you."

"Graves made it?" She pushes herself off of the couch and to her feet, shaking her head before running her hands through the tangle of hair atop her head, only serving to create a larger mess. "I'm sold."

* * *

Breakfast passed quickly, with the no conversation coming from me, I was too stuck in my own thoughts. I wring my hands as I approach Ashlee, both excited for and fearing the change my answer will bring to my world. "I'm going with you." He is organizing the translation notes, struggling to read my hectic handwriting from paper to paper before compiling them into a logical order as he looks up at me.

"You're making the right choice, Lara." Looking past me, he sighs, and the sound is borne from weariness and relief, as if my answer is the one he wanted and the one he didn't all at once. "You should take some time to say goodbye to Sam. Ali and I will get things out here ready."

I turn away, and Sam is watching me while talking to Alison by the windows, her dark eyes unreadable as they slowly move away from me. Nodding and taking a moment to steel myself, I walk over, standing close to the conversation. "-just that they want my finished edit by the end of the week. Oh, hi, Lara." Her innocent greeting throws me off that I just stare at her like an idiot before recovering.

"Uh, Ali, Ashlee needs your help with the artifacts." Looking between the two of us, the woman takes a moment to smile before nodding and walking away. I turn to lead Sam through the doors that separate this room from the kitchen, stepping onto the cold tile before turning back to face her. "Sam, I.." I can't bring myself to voice the words, because I know that she doesn't want me to say them as much as I want to shout them to the world.

"You took the job." Her voice fills in the blanks in place of mine, and I am left to meekly nod to confirm it.

"Please don't be angry with me."

"Lara.." Her slender fingers take my hands into her's, gently holding them as she steps closer to me. "I could never be mad at you for chasing what you wanted in life. I want this for you too, you know?" I feel shocked, and I know I shouldn't. She has always supported me, even encouraged me to chase after what I wanted. "It just sucks that it's across the world."

I can finally meet her eyes, empowered by the fact I have felt the same about it since learning that the tablet could lead to Atlantis. "I want to ask you to come, I do.. but that would put you in danger, just like Yamatai. I..I can't do that. I barely survived having that on my head the first time."

"Hey, I don't blame you at all for that, okay? It was not your fault." Sam has moved closer to me, enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off her body as it is almost pressed against mine. We've been this close for years, even when we were sharing a room in university, but I feel like I've ignored the wonderful feeling she has always given me all this time. "I don't want to go..I mean I do, I do want to go _with you_, but you aren't the only one with nightmares of that place."

"And..what about us?" My question sounds so pathetic, like I am begging her for the answer I want to hear, the us I want to come back to. But Sam knows what I want to hear, and as she finally closes the gap between our two bodies, I know she wants me to say the same to her. Her lips find mine, and I know what I have to come back to as I savor this feeling she gives me before I pull away.

"Sorry to interrupt you two.. Um, Lara, the jet is standing by for us. We need to get going, pack everything you are going to bring." Alison's voice shatters the moment for us, and I mumble out an acknowledgment in a vain attempt to salvage it. Sam just smiles and nods her head in the direction of the bedroom, letting me go so I can attend to the matters at hand.

I slip out of the shirt I have been lounging in for the last day or so as I pass under the archway, tossing it onto my mattress as I move to the shared closet that lies between the two beds in the room. Throwing the door open, I grab the first shirt that lies on my side of the wardrobe, a grey t-shirt, and pull it over my head. Getting it on as quickly as I can, I grab the leather jacket that lies inside the closet and throw it back onto my bed, adding a few more shirts behind it before squatting down.

On the floor are several pairs of shoes, ranging from the heels Sam bought me years ago to the sneakers I wore most days. I reach past them for the boots that lie in the corner, the material of them cracked in a half dozen places and stained from all they have been dragged through. Seating myself on the ground, I pull them onto my feet, relishing the broken-in feeling that comes with them. My hand lingers on the side of the right one after I finish tying them, tracing the rough edges left from an arrow nearly impaling my ankle.

I shake myself loose from being trapped in yet another memory, knowing that more are to come as I push the remaining shoes out of the way, revealing the lockbox that is set against the wall. Pulling it forth and spinning the combination lock to each digit required, it is only a few seconds before I am opening the lid slowly, letting it fall back to reveal the contents. Two pistols, and a battered journal. One of the pistols lies wrapped in a belt attached to a holster, but the other lies uncovered, it's silver slide a sharp contrast to the black frame of the weapon. I take the journal from the box, flipping through to the last page I wrote on the ship that had rescued us.

_"I've been so blind... so naive. For years I resented my father, doubted him like the rest. But he was right about so much. I just wish I could tell him that now. There are so many mysteries that I once dismissed as mere stories. But the line between our myths and truth is fragile and blurry. I need to find answers... I must understand."_

It had seemed so simple then, what I would do next. I remember feeling the drive slowly fade as I spent week after week in a hospital, each new surgery or medication revealing another injury that needed to be taken care of. By all accounts, the doctors said I should have died before reaching them, and that I was lucky. I didn't feel lucky, to be the battered trophy announcing those who had died for me. Grim, Alex, Roth. I know how Roth would react to seeing how I had spent the last year, cowering from the hand I had been dealt, from the experiences that had shaped me. Turning back the pages of the journal, I read only part of the first line of one entry.

"_Tears won't bring me back, girl."_

And they hadn't, none of the wallowing had brought any of them back. The nightmares had only gotten worse over time, as little by little I slipped into the creature Mathias had seen me as, and not the woman Roth had trained me to be. I set the journal back into the box, taking the pistol I had left wrapped in it's belt instead. I leave the other, the one I gave to Sam as the pyre slowly burned, knowing that she will have it calms the last itching concern of my departure.

I rise to my feet, beginning to unwind the belt from around the holster, before wrapping it around my waist. Pushing the tip through the buckle, it settles into the third hole that is punched through the old leather, sitting as comfortably as it did a year ago. My fingers linger on the buckle, sliding over to the familiar texture of the grip on the pistol, slowly reacquainting to it like an old friend.

Stepping away from the closet, I close the door behind me before grabbing the jacket I threw on the bed. I push my arms through the sleeves and adjust it on my back, using a hand to pull my ponytail clear of it. The shirts I threw along with it lie in a heaped mess on the blanket as I move around the side of the bed, reaching down to pull a duffel from under the wooden frame. The first to go into the bag are the shirts before I turn to open the drawers of the dresser behind me. Tossing in a reasonable amount of clothes, I move to the shelf just next to where I am standing, searching through the dozens of tomes for anything even remotely related to Ancient Greece.

Finding two that have not already been picked through for any references to the lost city of Atlantis, I turn back to place them within the duffel as well, finally zipping it closed and taking the straps in one hand. Each step is easier than I expected it to be as I move from the bedroom and through the doors into the main room of our flat. Ashlee is leaning against the wall near the door, avoiding the gaze Sam, who stands near the table with a worried expression on her face.

I move over to take her hand in mine, cherishing the feeling as much as I can in the few minutes we have. "I'll miss you." She smiles sadly in response to my words, her free hand finding it's way to my shoulder to idly trace one of the visible scars that mar the skin there.

"I'm going to miss you too.."

The sound of a throat clearing comes from Ashlee as he opens the door and steps out, tossing a knowing glance in our direction. "I'll be outside."

Closing with a small click, the door barely matches it's frame before my arms are around Sam's waist and our lips are meeting in a desperate, fiery battle to cling to the other against what is happening around us. I lose track of how long it lasts, but I can feel the tear in my chest when she pulls away. "Be safe, and come back to me, Lara Croft."

The use of my full name brings a smile as I bend to take up the bag I had dropped in the fray, taking a step toward the door. "I will, Sam. I promise." Turning on my heel to pull the exit open, I steal one more glance at the girl standing by the couch, savoring the sight and committing it to memory.


	4. Chapter 3 - The Relentless Gale

**Author's Note: So..I have decided to ditch the first person view. It was faster to write that way, but I felt like I could describe so much more from a third-person. Also, the foreign phrases I used are from a translator online, so here's hoping they are correct.(If they aren't, I apologize to any native speakers, I did not mean to butcher your languages) I hope you guys are liking how this one is developing, but I promise there is more to come. As always, let me know what you think! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 3

**-The Relentless Gale-**

_**Kushiro, Japan**_

_**April, 2014**_

Sleep wasn't something that had interested Lara until the plane touched ground at Kushiro, excitement having kept her awake the entire flight over, going through her notes a hundred times to check and re-check each translation. Now, the briefcase containing the scroll was left on the plane, to be transported back to New York, while the notes she had taken were contained in a briefcase, next to the ancient tablet, safely in Alison's hands as they were drove through the small town toward the port. Just as Ashlee had said, there had been a car waiting for them after they had stepped off of the jet.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the pier that was, according to her companions, owned completely by their employer. It was dark, but floodlights illuminated the entire area, showing a hive of activity as crates and containers were being moved about with various vehicles or heavy machinery. At the end of the long dock sat the ship they would take out on the expedition, a large research vessel that dwarfed even the Endurance. Along the bow of the monster was a name emblazoned in bright white paint amongst the black backdrop. "'Relentless Gale'?" Lara's question brought an amused glance from Ashlee, who stood just in front of her.

"I never said he didn't have an ego. Come on, he'll want to meet you." Guiding her through the crowd, he took her in the direction of the huge warehouse that sat atop the pier, where most of the activity was originating from. Once inside, the scene changed from nondescript dock workers hauling cargo to one that set her off guard. Men and women all about were dressed in matching black uniforms, wearing ballistic vests, and carrying rifles that were military grade either walked about or lounged on boxes scattered about the place.

Several glances her way were made by many of the soldiers, each one appraising and thankfully short as her unease began to build. Ashlee must have sensed her having trouble as he stopped and explained what it was she was seeing. "Quinn has brought along much of his security team, since his children will be accompanying him on the expedition. Aiden and Olivia Galeforth..you'll be introduced at some point, I'm sure." The way he said it made it seem as if it was better to avoid the situation at all costs, hardly putting her at ease.

"Graves, I've got to go get this checked in and on the ship." Alison was looking in a different direction than the one they had been heading in, before she looked back. "See if you can't find Fang and Tiane, yeah? They both owe me a beer."

Watching the woman move off with her fading laugh, Lara looked back to her guide. "Why do they owe her?"

"They bet Ali that you would translate the tablet, but wouldn't come along with us. ..They both should have known better." Her assumption that the bet had something to do with her being confirmed brought a small smile to her lips. "Now, shouldn't be too hard to find Quinn in here, come on." Ashlee led her past the large pile of supply containers that sat in the relative middle of the warehouse and into an open area, where a group of people sat around a small table covered in a map.

The man in the middle carried an air of authority around him, visible even from where Lara stood, with a shock of graying hair mixed in with black. He was dressed in a collared shirt that had it's sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a dark vest laid over it and a pair of khaki pants that all looked as if they hadn't been worn before today. His eyes were a dark color, the wrinkles about them large enough to be noticed from a distance. At his side stood a younger man who looked like a carbon copy of his elder, except for his eyes. Gray irises stood out amongst the dark features, underneath hair that looked to be competing with Ashlee's for how untidy it could be.

On the other side of the table were two strangers who stood out amongst the rest of the crew she had seen so far. One was a large man with tanned skin and a tattoo made of tribal wave patterns that was pitch black against his arm. He had kind eyes that were a color reminiscent of the sea, a strange contrast from the muscles that seemed ready to rip out from their captivity at any moment. The other was a young Asian woman, her skin much darker than Sam's, and her slanted eyes the color of bright honey. It was the woman who was speaking while they approached, pointing down towards the map from where she stood. "It has to be one of the islands here. Wake Island, maybe Midway."

"It probably isn't either of them." Lara's voice brought each of their gazes to bear upon her, silence coming as each stare found it's mark.

Ashlee, grinning at the way she had made their presence known, took the liberty of introducing her to the group. "This is Lara Croft. Lara, those two are my friends, Tiane and Liu Fang." He pointed to the large islander and the woman who had been speaking before she had interrupted as he spoke each name. "And this our benefactor, Quinn Galeforth, and his son, Aiden." From the moment she was introduced to them, Quinn had begun to make his way around the table to her, extending a hand to take one of her's in for a firm handshake.

"Thank you for your help in translating the tablet." The man's handshake lasted a practiced amount of time, comfortable yet respecting, telling of how long he had been a businessman. "And thank you for joining us, your father would be proud."

"It was an offer I couldn't refuse, to be honest." Looking past him towards the map on the table, she moved up and pointed to the area of open ocean directly east of the Ryukyu Isles. "Our destination is likely here, probably north of Wake Island, if anything."

It was Aiden Galeforth who spoke first, meeting her gaze with an intense glare of his own, and Lara was afforded the first clue as to why Ashlee had been hesitant to introduce her to the children of their employer. "It would be charted if it was there, and there is not anything for miles in that area."

"If it was charted, you wouldn't have needed me."

Her answer brought a laugh from the older Galeforth behind her, who stepped forward and gave a nod. "I like her, Graves."

Ashlee moved past her and embraced Tiane with a handshake that led into a one-armed hug, the two men bumping chests with a shared laugh before he released him to turn to Liu Fang. "Wǒ de péngyǒu."

Responding in Chinese as she was pulled into a hug with the man, the woman gave a wide smile. "Gāoxìng zàicì jiàn dào nǐ."

Quinn tore Lara's attention away from the scene as he rolled up the map. "We will trust in Lara's judgment. Make sure to have all your gear stowed on the ship before we leave tomorrow." The older man took the map with him as he moved off, heading towards a large group of the security team, carrying that air of assurance with him. It was strange to meet the man who had been behind the research into Atlantis, and to see that he was not the unbalanced individual she had pictured from what Ashlee had told her.

Tiane, the large man who bore a larger version of the tattoo that lay scarred on Ashlee's wrist, turned to face her, his bright eyes looking her over with a careful attention, as a mason would look for cracks in a stone. He raised a hand to gently touch the scar where an arrow had slashed open her right shoulder, the angry, puckered appearance of it doing little to dissuade him. "You carry many scars beneath the skin, Lara Croft." His hand dropped to take her's, a small frown present on his lips as he spoke in his native language. "Fa'amālūlū atu." Releasing her just as soon as he had spoke, the man moved away, the sad expression still evident on his features.

Ashlee, standing by his friend, caught her confused expression as she looked over at him. "Big man has got a soft spot, and he..does that sometimes. The words he spoke mean 'I'm sorry.', roughly." Clapping his hands, he resumed his usual upbeat demeanor. "Well then, Fang and I will show you where your bunk is aboard the Relentless, lets get you situated."

"After you two." She gestured with her hand for them to lead the way, still feeling a bit lost from how Tiane had approached her as she began to follow the two in front of her.

They spoke of how the preparations were progressing, from the way the ship had been upgraded in the past months to the number of crew members that were signed on to the expedition. "It's well into the hundreds now. I think Quinn is over-preparing at this point, and I'm not sure if I like it." Liu's voice was as small as the woman it belonged to, only drawing more questions in Lara's mind how she fit into the group led by Ashlee Graves.

Sighing, the man shrugged as they neared the slipway. "I wish I could curb his adventurous side.. I always knew Quinn would land us in trouble, but he is blatantly ignoring my warnings now."

"He knows he can't trust the men he hires fully. As far as I know, only a select few know what it is we are after, and fewer still have been promised a cut aside from their pay for the trip. Besides, he has been hunting this treasure for nearly two decades..let him have his day." Lara was only half listening at this point, watching Tiane help four other men pull a hoist that looked like it was weighed down past what it could carry. Looking up as they stepped onto the Relentless Gale, she caught Ashlee looking back at her.

"What is it?"

The expression that was swept away once he noticed her interest was one of concern. "Nothing." Turning back to the face the way they were going, the man continued his previous conversation like it hadn't been interrupted. "He still did not have to bring that brat with him."

"Aiden? Hmm, I think he actually volunteered to come along, Olivia too." Liu's voice showed the same lack of respect for the younger Galeforth man, enough that Lara noticed it again, raising her eyebrow and filing it away to ask about later. "Though Olivia has made why she came quite clear..I'm sure she's going to be ecstatic to hear about what you did."

They entered the ship through a hatch, it's appearance identical to the ones she had stepped through so many times aboard the Endurance. The words above it were freshly painted on, identifying it as the crew quarters. "I actually can't take credit for that. I just pestered her but it was actually her girlfriend that convinced her."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Both of them looked back at Lara with devilish grins as she realized that they were speaking of her now, her cheeks heating up as she tried to not listen. "Alison must have been irked by that one."

"She was certainly acting cooped up by the time we landed, that's for sure." After passing dozens of doors and rounding a corner, Ashlee stopped and spread his arms out wide, pointing to the door that sat at the end of one side of the hallway. "This little corner of the ship is where my crew and I set up shop. We got you a bunk next to us, right in there, so if you need anything, just ask." After receiving the confirmation of a nod from Lara, he turned to his friend. "By the way, Fang, the shipment I requested, did that ever arrive?"

"Yes. Quinn has it waiting on the bridge for you to pick it up." The man stepped around both of them, heading back the way they had come with an excited bounce in his step. Watching him go, Lara shook her head at the thought of ever figuring out what it was that truly went on in the mind of Ashlee Graves. She turned and stepped into the room he had pointed to, the size of it only slightly bigger than the room she had been afforded on her last expedition. Sliding the strap off of her shoulder, she left the bag by the locker and took a seat on the cot, testing the firm mattress she would be sleeping on in the coming days.

A mirror sat above a low sink across from her, the corners of it worn and cracked, dirty and stained from disuse. Her face showed on the surface, a perfect reflection of her features. The eyes that gazed back were less haunted then they had been in months, a refreshing change and a step back to the person she once was. _There's no going back to that person, Lara, accept it. _"So all I heard about Yamatai, was it true?" The voice caused her to look over at the door, where Liu Fang was leaning on the frame with her arms crossed.

"Depends on what you've heard, I guess." Lara leaned back on her palms, tilting her head enough that her ponytail slid from it's place on her shoulder.

"It just sounds like it would have been fascinating to see an ancient Samurai culture still alive centuries later." The look she shot the other woman's way must have been venomous, because she seemed to recoil after asking the question, her voice losing the excited edge it had carried a moment before. "Not that I would want to be there or have to face something like that..it just sounds interesting, is all. Anyway, like Graves said, if you need anything, let us know. We might seem strange but we don't bite. Well, Ali does, but Tiane and I are nice enough."

"Thank you, Fang."

"Of course. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lara." The woman smiled before pushing off of the frame and walking away, her footsteps echoing down the corridor before melding into the other sounds coming from outside the room.

Falling back into the cot with a sigh, the exhaustion of having not slept since London began to seep over her, causing her eyelids to droop and her breath to slow. Within a few minutes, the fear of what sleep would bring began to fade, and Lara's thoughts became few and far between, slipping out of focus into the dark.

* * *

The first thing Lara became aware of was the steady movement that reverberated all around her, as if the ground beneath her was moving. Rising slowly, she looked down at the simple blanket that covered her legs in confusion, not recalling having had it when she had fallen asleep. A pillow was placed in her bed as well, with her head having been lain on it sometime during her exhausted slumber. Blinking as she glanced around the room, she saw that her door had been closed as well, and that her pistol was laid carefully on the counter, just beside the sink.

She swung her feet down to the floor, pushing herself up out of the cot and over to the porthole, which showed her only ocean for miles, rising and falling in time with the movement of the ship. The confusion faded quickly after the revelation that they were at sea, and she understood that she had slept for many hours, judging by the light that was beginning to fade behind the stern.

Lara opened the door to her room, pulling it inward before looking out into the hallway. The section of the ship that Ashlee had told her belonged to his crew was quiet, each of the three doors across from her's were closed. The main hallway, however, was busier, with crewmen moving past her view carrying a variety of supplies or luggage, still settling in.

"Ah, you're finally up." The voice sounded as she stepped out in the corridor, coming from the room adjacent to her's. Alison was hanging from the doorway by one hand, a wide smile on her lips. "I hope you don't mind that I took some liberties on getting you more comfortable and..less likely to shoot yourself in your sleep."

Letting out a breathy chuckle, Lara shook her head. "No, I don't mind, and thank you, Ali. I must've slept for a longer time than I thought I would.. I thought we weren't leaving until tomorrow?" Her question brought a resigned shrug from the other woman.

"Yeah, we weren't. Then all the equipment was loaded and Quinn didn't want to wait, even with Graves telling him we should run a few more checks.."

"Is he always this excitable, then?" She phrased her question as best she could, not wanting to disrespect the man who was funding the expedition that had led them all here.

Alison nodded, making a noise that spoke of many times she had bit her tongue on her employer's rampant disregard for safety. "You don't know the half of it. But, enough of that, I'm betting right about now you are wondering where the food is?" She nodded, the woman guessing correctly as she felt her stomach rumble in protest to the emptiness that filled it. "Good, I'm starving, follow me to the galley."

Lara took up a stride just behind the other, watching as the regular crewmen moved out of the way as they approached, looking to both of them with a nod of the head or simply averting their eyes. She found herself watching the back of Alison's spiky hair with a curiosity, wondering what it was that the woman had done to earn herself the attitudes of the workers aboard the ship. They moved down a flight of stairs that turned into another corridor, before turning to a door that led into a much more open area.

Along one wall was a kitchen manned by a dozen people, each dishing out whatever had been cooked for the day, while tables were littered in no particular order a few feet away from the counter to the opposite wall, each seating four or five of the crew. "Ah, there are the others, over there. Go ahead and sit, I'll get us some grub." Alison moved off towards the kitchen, her instructions pointing Lara the table in the far corner.

Ashlee patted the seat next to him as he looked up from the conversation he was in with Tiane and Fang, before nodding in response to whatever had been said to him. As she neared she began to catch what the subject was. "All I'm saying is, I spent five years working for the MSS, and we never cooked up anything quite like what the NSA did, and all the signs point to it getting worse in the years to come."

"Then those of our profession will only find ourselves in more work." Tiane met her eyes as she sat down, a brief smile crossing his lips before he continued. "We do not follow the laws, and man is not easily governed."

Ashlee finished a bite of the sandwich that looked like it had spent far too long on his plate, swallowing before he spoke. "So we'll either live short, full lives breaking the law and chipping away at government control, or enjoy the long, dull existence that is life behind bars?"

"Pretty much. Without privacy we won't have anywhere to hide." Liu Fang idly twirled her fork in her fingers, shrugging as if the point was hopeless to argue against. A tray was laid in front of Lara, surprising her as she looked up to see Alison, who looked to have caught on to what was being discussed fairly quickly.

"Great, glad I got into this life, then. Can't wait for prison." The brunette winked one bright green eye her way as she pulled a chair over from another table. Looking down at what had been brought to her, she saw it was a stew of some kind, smelling of beef more than anything else. "Though if Galeforth finds what he is looking for on this expedition, we'll all be set up for life, no reason to continue doing the business we do."

Lara couldn't help but smile as she considered her situation at the moment, sitting around a table eating dinner with four thieves, who were calmly discussing that they would most likely would end up dead or in jail. It was a strange mix of charming and strange that had plagued her since Ashlee had knocked at her door. Looking up from the bowl in front of her, she scanned the galley, and the many faces engaged in their own personal conversations with each other. As her gaze neared the tables along the wall where she sat, one of the faces was looking directly at her.

Gray eyes stared at her just one table away, the look in them more akin to shock than anything else as Lara's eyes flitted between the other occupants of that table. Aiden Galeforth sat next to the girl, as well as several deckhands, all of them absorbed in the discussion except for the young woman staring at her. Looking away, she questioned Ashlee in a low voice. "Who is that?"

Tracing her line of sight, the man next to her let out a quiet laugh. "That would be Olivia, Quinn's daughter. She's the bookish sort of girl, not exactly suited to expeditions across the world or, you know, talking to people." He looked back to Lara, shaking his head with an amused expression. "Though she is nice enough. Everything we know about your expedition to Yamatai, we learned from her. She tagged along pretty much just to meet you."

"Me?" She finally tore her gaze back to the younger girl, only to see that she was now seeming overly interested in her food before she stood and walked off from the table. "..Why?"

"I've got no idea, and I'm not exactly keen on figuring it out. Ask Ali sometime, she's the one who asked her about it all." Ashlee lowered his voice so it wouldn't carry, the expression on his face turning a bit sour. "I kind of gave up on Quinn's children after I spent two minutes with Aiden." The younger Galeforth still sitting at the table must have heard them, because he looked away from his conversation to glare at them, only receiving a mockingly friendly wave from Ashlee for his trouble.

* * *

Night settled over the Relentless Gale, bringing a lull from the constant movement aboard the ship for the first time since it had docked at Kushiro. As far as Alison knew, all the cargo had been checked off, nothing left forgotten in their haste to set out. She was walking down the long corridor that led from the galley to the main deck, her closest friend at her side, the cause of the annoyance that showed with every step she took. "Ali, all I'm asking you to do is keep an eye out for her."

"She's a grown woman, Ashlee, not a puppy." Stepping in front of him and turning on him, she met his gaze at an even level. "I like her, but you have to stop pampering her, especially if this trip turns out to be dangerous in any capacity. I don't remember you ever caring this much about some random stranger we brought along on any of our other jobs, so what is it with this one, huh?"

The man in front of her grew quiet, causing her to shake her head and turn away before his voice stopped her, uncharacteristically quiet. "She isn't just another stranger, Ali, and you know that. Not to mention that she has a life to go back to, how many of us can say the same?"

She gave a resigned sigh, her eyes trailing back to him. "So that is what it's about, then. Fine, I'll watch out for her, but you can't be her safety net forever.. Now go away, there is someone else on this ship you can bother, isn't there?" His smile was infectious, bringing a grin to her lips as he laid a hand on her shoulder and stepped past her, heading towards the deck. She waited for him to disappear around the corner before following, her destination decided with Ashlee's request.

* * *

There was a light breeze in the night that kept the air alive with the smell of the sea, bringing a fresh scent to the sweat of the laborers that had hung about the ship since they had left port. Even where Lara stood, on the edge of a balcony and watching the waves crash against the side of the hull, it was barely enough to overpower the smell. "Hey." Alison's voice carried on the wind, startling her as she stuffed the picture she was holding into one of her pockets and turned to face the other woman.

"Hi, Ali."

"What are you up to out here?"

"The first night on the Endurance, I sat out on the deck and just listened to the waves." Lara laughed as she explained it, turning back to lean on the rail and look out into the ocean. "Excited to be on my first adventure. That faded quickly, trust me."

Alison joined her, a small smile on the other woman's lips as she listened to her. "So how about now, still excited?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she found the answer was as easy as it was complicated. "Yes, but I'm terrified as well. And I hate being away from Sam.. It feels like I left a piece of myself behind in London, and I want to go back." Clearing her throat, she remembered where she was as she shifted around. "If that all makes any sense."

"More than you would think, yeah." Alison snickered softly as she playfully bumped her shoulder into Lara's. "You're a lucky girl, you know that? Sam is head over heels for you, got a big hero complex and all that for you, too." Glancing over, the confusion evident on her face of how the other woman would know that from only spending a day or so with them asked the question for her. "Oh, uh, I was trying to hit on her and all she would talk about was you. To be honest it was a bit heartbreaking."

They both shared a laugh at that, with Lara shaking her head at the mental image of Sam being totally oblivious to someone expressing their interest in her. A comfortable silence filled the air as they quieted, the sounds of the ocean returning. "She worries about you, too. No need to though, we'll get you home in one piece!" Pushing off of the railing, Alison tossed her a wink. "I'm gonna turn in. Get some sleep, Croft."

"Goodnight, Ali." Watching the other woman depart, she smiled, thinking again of Sam as she turned back to the sea. She pulled the picture she had hidden from her pocket, unfolding it as carefully as she did every time. Taken during their backpacking trip through Bulgaria, her friend, or whatever it was that they were now, had an arm about her shoulder, hanging on her with a wide smile.

* * *

"Do you think you've hired enough men for this?" Ashlee's question caused a stir of discomfort among the crew in the bridge, each of them suddenly looking a hundred times more intent on the tasks they had been doing when he walked in. "I'm sure we could hire a few more on the ships we see on the way."

Quinn Galeforth only laughed, taking it in stride as he did with most things. "I don't want any problems on this expedition, Graves, and I'm looking to you to make sure that happens. We find the island, you get rich, I get famous, we go home." Dropping his voice to a whisper, the older man beckoned him to where he stood over a table draped with a dozen different nautical maps. "The Croft girl, can we trust her?"

"She's been through a lot, as I'm sure your daughter has told you. But, yes, I think we can." He gave a nod as his employer's expression slowly returned to one of ease and joy. "Lara's smart, smarter than any of us put together, she's the only one who can find this place."

"Good! Good.. We're finally on our way, after so many years." Quinn's hand clapped down on his shoulder, shaking him for a moment. "This is going to set you up for life, Graves."

"No doubt. It'll be worth all the pain we've gone through to get here." Sharing in the optimistic attitude for a moment, Ashlee turned away and gazed out the window, the sea was calm and the night wind was blowing through, bringing the smell of salt over the whole ship. On the balcony below, he could see Lara, lit by the deck's lights. It wasn't hard to guess what the picture in her hands was of, and he felt his lips slip to a frown as he watched her.


	5. Chapter 4 - Storms

**Author's Note: So it's been a bit longer than usual between chapters. Not much, but I just wanted to explain that despite the longer time, there is a shorter chapter. I was upgrading the hard drive on my laptop, and have spent the last couple of days re-installing and re-configuring everything to the way I had it before. Anyway, if you'd like to know more about the backstory between Ashlee and his crew, check out my other fanfic. Thank you all for the follows, favs and reviews, you guys are awesome! As always, let me know what you think, and more importantly, enjoy the read! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 4

**-Storms-**

_**The Relentless Gale, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

The initial excitement of an expedition wore off quickly for Lara, as day after day became a frustrating series of attempts to translate the remainder of the tablet, only to end up drifting to sleep in one book or the other and getting no closer to understanding the symbols. Each was as varied as the other, showing resemblances to those she had already translating, but elusive enough to prevent drawing a solid conclusion.

Quinn Galeforth had come to visit her twice in the last four days, always leaning in the doorway and asking questions. He seemed interested in learning how she had pieced together the train of languages that had led to understanding the tablet, but kept quiet as she explained it, ending their conversations with a contemplative nod before wandering off. Alison, she assumed by Ashlee's direction, came to interrupt her at any given time, to take her out of the room to do anything besides work. Today, it was playing cards in the galley.

It seemed that Alison's attempts were successful, as she was beginning to integrate into the strange group of thieves that had come along on the expedition. Their interest in her life had brought on quite a bit of laughs as she told stories of Sam's exploits and constant need to land her in the deepest trouble she could find. Liu Fang, holding the cards in her hand tilted up to hide their contents from the rest of them, spoke as she recovered from the fit of laughter the previous story had left her in. "Lara, I've got to meet Sam when we get back, she sounds like a riot."

Nodding with a wide smile on her lips, Lara agreed. "Yeah, she's pretty good at fun."

"Ashlee, up the bet or put your cards down. You're taking forever." Alison teased her friend as he took a few moments looking over his cards before he decided.

"I fold." Ashlee set his cards face down against the table, leaning back to take a sip of the drink he had been nursing for the last couple hours. Despite the loss that left him out of the game along with Tiane, he wore a smile as he watched them.

"I still can't believe you haven't learned how to bluff, Graves. You've known Ali for how long?" Fang's obvious delight at the improved odds of winning were evident in both her voice and the way she added more chips to the pile that was building in the center of the table.

Adding chips of her own, Alison laughed and nodded Lara's way to indicate it was her turn to weigh the stakes. "Going on a decade now, isn't it?"

"How'd you meet?" Lara threw her chips in, swiping her index finger across the corner of one of her cards as she looked them over. Two aces, a ten, and a couple of jacks. It was a good hand, but she found herself surprisingly interested in learning more about the four other players, and uncaring of whether she won the friendly game or not.

"Quinn hired us both for a job, it kind of went south." It was Ashlee who answered, looking to the other thief with a knowing grin. "We were sent to acquire a painting for him, ended up working almost every job after with each other."

"And I've been saving his ass ever since." Alison's comment caused a ripple of laughter around the table, except for Tiane, who had remained quiet for the most part since they had sat down to play. He looked up at the noise, as if pulled from a deep thought.

Lara looked at the large man as Fang laid down her cards, three kings she was hoping would bring her the win. "What about you?" Alison followed suit with her cards, laying them down with a disappointed groan, having only a pair of queens.

Tiane met her gaze with a small, worried smile. It was clear that something was bothering the man, but he didn't seem to be in the mood for sharing. "Met Graves in a jail cell, and I joined him when he escaped, thanks to Fang here." Nodding in her direction, he made it clear that he was finished with his party of the story.

Lara set down her winning hand, leaning on the table to look over at Liu Fang, who cursed in Chinese as she lost. "You broke them out?"

The woman shrugged modestly before confirming it with a nod. "I was able to pay off a couple of guards. I was tracking a arms dealer that was working with the CIA and the French government, and these two.." She gestured towards Ashlee and Alison, shaking her head in disbelief. "Stumbled across the whole investigation and gave me a huge edge."

"You were a spy, then?"

"Kind of.. I didn't receive any real training, but they contacted me and wanted my expertise with certain things."

Ashlee leaned forward, taking the cards off the table and beginning to shuffle them together. "Now, she's one of the best hackers in the business. Can take down any building security we've come across, and from what I've heard, isn't bad at rigging online poker games." Fang's shoulders rose and fell in another shrug, but a smirk formed on her lips that told of her own pride in her abilities.

Chuckling, Lara shook her head. "You remind me of Alex." The questioning glances from the others prompted her to continue. "He was a hacker who came on the Endurance expedition, to Yamatai. He was always trying to step up and be the hero, taking the most dangerous assignments and.." Her voice faltered as her memories caught up with what she was telling them, recalling how the story ended.

Clearing her throat, she looked down as the cards that were being dealt stopped. "You going to be okay, Lara?" Ashlee's voice was quiet, and a quick glance up told her that the others were looking at her with concern.

She stood, pushing her chair back from the table as she did. "Yes, I.. need to go work on the translations. You guys enjoy your game. Excuse me." Without waiting to hear any protest from them, she made her way through the galley and taking the stairs that led up to the quarters, moving quickly, as if she could outrun the memories.

* * *

Lara didn't see the girl as she moved around the corner, her quick strides not allowing her to stop before running into the other with a cry of surprise. It took a moment for her to regain her bearings and examine who she had run into, revealing that it was Olivia Galeforth, the daughter of the man who was funding the expedition, and apparently the girl who idolized her. "Oh, sorry."

"No, no, I..It's my fault." Olivia was pretty, her features looking to be taken from her mother more than her father, as she lacked the heavy brow and narrow eyes that featured on both of the Galeforth men. Her hair, falling loosely about her shoulders, was the same black as her the rest of her family's, and she shared the same gray eyes of her brother, but everything seemed softer on her. Freckles played across the bridge of her nose, noticeably celebrated amongst the pale skin. "I'm sorry, I was.. Sorry."

Sliding past her, the other woman looked incredibly embarrassed, her cheeks a bright red as she strode off, leaving Lara with an confused expression on her face. Shaking her head, she turned and continued the way she had been heading before, moving past an open door and hearing a voice that stopped her. "-my father. He's going to risk ruining the company chasing a legend. And let's not forgot that we're following the advice of a girl who is half crazy, if my sister is to be believed."

Taking a step back into the doorway to look into the room, she saw Aiden Galeforth talking with several of the security team and deckhands. As she approached, they all took a step back as they saw her, as if the expression she wore was frightening. "If I _was _'half crazy', I'd be more worried about what I said about me."

Turning, the surprise on Aiden's face faded quickly as he countered her words with more of his own. "I'm only being honest. You are here because my father trusts a second rate thief, who in turn trusts an insane woman to lead us to a treasure that doesn't exist."

"I don't know if it does exist, but my translations are correct, and they pointed to where we are going. If there is anything out here, we will find it." The annoyance that had drawn her into the room was quickly boiling over in the realm of anger, as his doubts only compounded upon the doubts she was beginning to feel herself.

"Of course we'll find it." Raising up both hands as if he was surrendering, the smile he flashed her way was disarming enough that she had begun to turn towards the door when he spoke up again. "And you'll go back to your girlfriend in London, right?" Lara rounded on him, her fists clenching up into balls as she fought to control the temper that reared at the mention of Sam. The smile that had seemed so sincere a few seconds ago burned away into one much darker as the man stepped towards her. "Do you _really _think that she'll be there when you get back, hmm? I mean, we've all heard the stories, how she has taken care of you every day since you went off the deep end. Who would want that life?"

She lost control for a moment, his words digging into her in a way that swept past all the logic and reason she had placed up to defend herself. Her fist collided into his jaw, spinning him and throwing him to the ground, leaving her above him with her other hand raised, ready to strike again. Fingers closed about her raised wrist, pulling her back towards the door. "Whoa! What are you doing?!" Ashlee had maneuvered himself in between her and the target she was fixated upon, the fury that coursed through her causing her pulse to race through the trembling limbs.

It felt like Yamatai, where every second had been a fight for life against the forces that were trying to kill her. She wanted to fight back, to kill anything that stood in her way, and she felt like she could accomplish it, being this angry. Worse still, somewhere in the back of Lara's mind, a terrified voice of reason pointed out that she was enjoying this feeling, that she had missed it. "Calm down!"

"Graves, I-"

"No!" His voice was raised above any level she had previously heard it, and it managed to break through the cloud of anger that controlled her. "Go calm down, I don't care where, but leave. Now!" The grip was released from her arm as she struggled against it, shock beginning to set in as she fumbled a hand against the door and pulled herself out of the room, barely noticing her feet thundering against the floor until she was already halfway down the long corridor.

* * *

Ashlee stood with his feet firmly planted between where Aiden lay and Lara had been standing, the expression on her face all to familiar when she had looked at him. She had been ready to fight, and to kill, like a cornered animal. He felt his hand shake as the tension wore into him, but control was easily reestablished once he took in a long breath and turned to face the boy who had provoked his friend.

"Rein in your rabid girlfriend, Graves." Aiden was gingerly touching the side of his jaw that she had hit, the bruise already beginning to form beneath the skin, having pulled himself up off the ground. His gray eyes, alight with indignation, widened as he caught the expression upon Ashlee's face. "Oh, didn't think I would notice that? I know why you brought her along, wanting a chance with the daughter of the man you used to idolize."

Ashlee froze for a split second, before letting a grin slip over his face and stepping closer to the younger man, who finally broke his cocky expression, the unwilling presence of fear creeping up to his features. He kept his voice even, and calm, as if the words had not effected him. "Aiden.. You know what kind of things I've done for your father over the years, so don't push your luck with me." He laid a hand on the others shoulder, holding the terrified gaze with a certain sense of satisfaction. "Or I will end you, like the insignificant cockroach you are."

Pushing Aiden away, he looked up at the crewmen that had gathered in the room before his arrival. "Don't you all have work you should be doing?" Turning on a heel, he stalked out the door, leaving the tense atmosphere behind as quickly as he could.

* * *

Pacing the small length of her room, Lara wrung her hands again and again as she tried to expel the feelings that had followed the rage. _I wanted to kill him. _She stopped in front of the small mirror, catching the look in her eyes as the thought intruded her mind. "I wanted to.."

A knock brought her around, seeing Ashlee in the door way. He made no move to enter the room, keeping his distance while he broke the silence with a small laugh and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Well, now you know about Aiden. I had hoped to keep him away.. The little shit has a talent for finding the exact buttons to push to set somebody off."

"I can see that." Lara calmed somewhat in the face of the other man's humorous approach at breaking the ice, but she kept her voice neutral.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted, but Quinn will only abide his son getting smacked around a little bit. Family is a bit low on the totem pole in his priorities, but it's still on the pole.." Lowering his hand, Ashlee shrugged, his grin falling into a frown. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Graves. But what he said.."

"Think nothing of it, Sam will be there when you get back. That girl is crazy about you." She raised an eyebrow, wondering how he knew what it was that had set her off. "I was listening, I wanted to make sure dredging up Alex hadn't upset you too much."

"Oh. I still shouldn't have hit him." She ran her hands together before sighing and sitting down on the mattress of her cot, feeling drained after everything that had happened.

"Best to find a way to get your mind off of it, alright?" By the time she looked up to respond, the doorway was empty, leaving her alone in the room to stew with her thoughts. Lara's hand moved in an all-to-familiar way, pulling the worn picture from her pocket as she fell back into the cot, wishing for the first time that she was back in London.

* * *

Leaning on the railing of the ship's bow, Ashlee laced his fingers together as he watched the waves churn before being pulled underneath the hull of the Relentless. The storm clouds he had seen this morning were now much closer, almost upon them as night was settling in, while the vanguard of winds lowered the temperature across the deck. "Can I join you?"

The soft voice was almost lost upon the breeze as he turned, seeing someone he hadn't expected to approach him at all during the expedition, the daughter of his employer. Olivia looked much older than when he had last seen her, a couple years ago. He remembered the way he had scared the girl who had come to try and convince him to let her join his team, and the way she had avoided him since. "Sure, I don't mind."

He turned back to the railing, resuming his original position as she took up one similar next to him. Minutes passed in silence, the glances he tossed her way bringing no indication what the girl was thinking or why she had come over. She remained still, simply watching the waves rise and fall as he had been doing earlier. Finally, Olivia turned to face him, looking nervous to even be speaking to him. "What is she like?"

Quirking an eyebrow, he shifted his position to face her, tilting his head to the side. "What?"

"Lara Croft, what is she like?"

He let out a small chuckle at the girl's question. "If you want to know, you can just go and talk to her. You know that, right?"

"I.." The woman's voice faltered as she looked away, giving off the same aura of shyness that seemed to follow her around. "I thought about it, but what do you say to someone who has been through what she has? I wouldn't even know where to begin.." To Ashlee's surprise, Olivia let out a soft laugh. "Also she punched the last Galeforth she talked to."

"Aiden had it coming, he was being a dick."

"He always is." With a sheepish grin, Olivia lifted a hand to brush her hair back from her shoulder. "Does wishing I had been there to see it make me a bad person?"

Ashlee pretended to weigh the options in his head before responding. "I don't think so, and I'd wager most of the crew would've love to have seen it." He shook his head as they shared a laugh, the sound fading quickly against the rising sound of the wind coming off the storm. Olivia's gaze met his with a bright smile on her face before she looked away, her cheeks tinting a light pink as she did.

It didn't take long for their silence to be broken, as the moment between them passed when she raised a hand to point towards the sky. "What is that?" Following where she pointed, he saw what had brought about her excited tone. In the shape of a ring just off of the point of the Relentless was a collection of bright blue lights, hanging above the clouds that drifted by.

"Looks like the Aurora Borealis..but we should have seen it long before this." The glow of it stood out against the darkness of the night, shining even through the haze of the lights coming from the ship. Even as he began to answer the questioning look that came from Olivia, the storm reached them with a surprising fury. Rain begin to slam into the ship's deck, leaving a stinging sensation where the drops collided with exposed skin. "Maybe you should get back to your quarters!"

Olivia gave a nod, having heard his yell above the sudden roar of wind that brought a chill to the two. Ashlee grabbed her arm gently and held onto her as they made their way back to towards the stairs that led below deck. He waited until she had a firm hold on the railing before letting go, and took the first step down. Turning to look back up at the lights, he saw that they were quickly approaching the area under the edge of the ring, narrowing his eyes as an idea came to him.

* * *

The ambience of creaking that normally accompanied the slow churning of waves beneath the ship had increased with the storm bearing down on it, lending another agitation to the irritation that lingered within Lara from the earlier events of that day, slowly building until she threw the book in her hands across the small room with a groan. Swinging her legs off of the cot with a flourish, she rose to her feet and moved to the small window in her room. Outside, the sea raged in a reflection of what she had been struggling with since her confrontation with Aiden.

Turning to the open door, she caught sight of Ashlee inside his own room, standing with his back to her, looking at something that was draped over the desk in front of him. Curiosity drove her to walk towards him, tapping her knuckles lightly against the metal frame of the entrance. He glanced back and waved her in, leaning down to get a closer look at whatever it was he was studying. "Hello Lara, need something?"

"I was actually wondering what you were up to." She moved to the side of the man, looking over the chart on the table. It was a map of the area of ocean they were in, and he had traced their course over the last few days, showing them far from any kind of island, and with no land in sight of their current heading.

Ashlee didn't seem to mind her intrusion, leaning back from the chart and giving a frustrated sigh. "Just doing a bit of research of my own. Speaking of, how comes the rest of the tablet? I heard Quinn was interested in it."

"Slowly, and yes, he's been coming by." Lara shrugged, not wanting to say she had gotten nowhere with the translation since she had set foot aboard the Relentless Gale. "He's a strange man. What can you tell me about him?" Tilting her head, she watched him as he took a step back from the table and met her eyes.

His only movement for a few seconds was blinking before he spoke up. "I was in prison after I got the scroll, in China, and it was Quinn who pulled all the stops to get my team close enough that they could get me out. He isn't a thief, and he's not much of a collector of artifacts, but he is a businessman. He understands money, and how to make it."

"Why is he after the treasure, if he is as well off as it sounds?"

"Credit. He wants to be known as the man who discovered the treasure of a lost civilization that is shrouded in so much myth." Ashlee's attitude threw her off a little, the unusual bluntness of the conversation causing her to wonder what it had been that set off his need to do research of his own. "Pure ego driven venture."

Nodding, Lara leaned back against the edge of the table, folding her arms as she considered what the man had said. "And how about you, Graves? Why are you here?"

"Money. If we find anything, even the slimmest chance of proof that Atlantis existed, Galeforth can sell it to the highest bidder, and we all end up on a pile of riches."

"That's it?"

Nodding to confirm what he said, Ashlee gave a small laugh at her incredulity. "That's it. I'll get my share and spend the rest of my days getting drunk on some tropical island. Don't look so shocked, I chose my life, but I don't want to play this part forever." Turning back toward the chart upon the table, his voice grew quieter. "You either end up in a cell or a hole in the ground."

It was strange how fast the mood of the room switched from welcoming to quietly informing her that the conversation was over, causing her to push off from her perch and move away. It looked as though her departure was lost on Ashlee, as he became absorbed in his work once again. Just as Lara's hand touched the door that led into her room, the ship dipped forward, as if something had been dropped on the bow of the ship. Barely managing to catch herself from tumbling to the ground, she clung to the edge of the wall next to her, holding herself close to the metal.

Even as the heaving of the ship began to settle back to how it had been before, her attention was drawn to the tablet that lay on the table inside her room. Unlike the books that now littered the floor, the stone was still seated where it had been before, the runes that lay carved into the tablet glowing with a fierce blue, shining out for a second before the light faded away.

"Lara, you okay?" Ashlee's voice brought her gaze around to where he was emerging from his room, her mind still racing to explain what it was she had just seen.

"I'm fine, I just.." Looking back, the tablet lay on the table as it had since she had taken it from the briefcase, no indication that anything had ever been amiss. "Did you-?"

Her attempt to check if she was losing her mind was interrupted by the intercom activating, and Quinn Galeforth's voice flooded the halls of the crew quarters. "Attention crew, we've spotted an island just off the bow, and have adjusted course. Gather what supplies we will take ashore, we'll be dropping anchor within the hour."

Cries to action sounded throughout the corridors, filling the air enough that Ashlee had to yell what he said, even standing next to her. "I need to get the bridge!" The man turned away from her and pulled the door to his room closed. The hallway that intersected her own were filled with the crew that had come pouring out of their rooms, heading in either direction after the announcement, and Ashlee joined their ranks before being lost from her sight.

Lara was left to turn on her heel and head for the pistol that was balancing precariously on the counters edge in her room, displaced by the upheaval that had preceded the declaration of the island being sighted. Sliding it into the holster that was strapped to her hip, she moved her hand over to the latch of the locker that held her belongings. She was violently slammed into the partially open door as the ship heaved again, this time accompanied by the deafening sound of an explosion.


	6. Interlude - Sam I

**Author's Note: Sorry to tease all of you who are following this story, but it's not a full chapter. I got the idea for this while writing the next chapter in Graves, and refined it down to what I wanted to post. Plus, I've been looking for a way to continue incorporating Sam into the story, so I guess this is a way! Thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews, and enjoy the read, you guys are awesome!(Please don't hunt me down, I'm updating as quickly as I can, I swear!) -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Interlude

**-Sam-**

_**Boston, United States**_

_**April, 2014**_

It had been a long time since Sam had been back in America, the last being a couple months after Lara had left her last hospital, mostly recovered in a physical sense. It had been a close to a week since her friend had left with the two treasure hunters who had come to their flat in London, and she had felt it was time to check up on an old friend, finding the empty apartment a depressing sight to come home to each night.

Boston wasn't exactly the type of place she expected to hear that Joslin Reyes had settled down in, but she could see the appeal, the tightly packed neighborhoods and large parks. She thought it looked like a simple enough life as she neared the address that she had been given, a sort of picket fence deal, without the actual fence. A young girl sat on the steps, a book open in her lap, seeming to enjoy the spring air as she read.

She looked up as Sam approached, her face immediately breaking into an expression of joy, with a smile leaping to her lips. "Sam! Mom told me you were coming!" Her skin was a lighter shade than her mother's but the girl's features were undoubtedly shared with the older woman, rather than her father. "Lara isn't with you?"

"Hi Alisha, and no, not this time." She was greeted with a hug from the girl, chuckling before returning the embrace. After a moment, she pulled back and grinned, amazed that Alisha was near to rivaling her in height now. "Where's your mom?"

"She's in the garage, working on her car. Follow me!" Taken by the hand and led down the sidewalk, Sam resigned herself to being pulled along, smiling as she saw the sign that hung above the building next to the house, the smooth wood painted over to announce the business to those who passed by. She was dragged inside, where several cars sat in various stages of being torn apart. One in particular was whole, with an older woman bent over inside of the hood. "Mom, Sam's here!"

Leaning back to pull herself out of the engine she was working on, Reyes looked up and over, a smile coming to her lips. "Hey Sam, it's been too long." Setting down the wrench she was holding, she turned away for a moment before looking back and pulling the hood down on the car. "She's a beauty, isn't she? '72 Camaro."

"Whoa, it looks a lot better than it used to." It really did, the old frame was no longer rusted and dented in a half dozen places like the last time she had seen it. Red paint now covered it's body, with black racing stripes down the roof and the hood.

"Alisha, honey, go check on the oven, please?" The girl nodded and ran off back the way they had came, and Sam watched her go before turning back to the older woman. Wiping her hands off with a dirty oil rag, Reyes approached her while looking over the car with an approving smirk. "So, how's it been?"

"Things are good, really good, actually." Tossing a nod in the direction the girl had gone, she raised an eyebrow. "How's the girl?"

"She misses him, so do I." Leading the way to the door that left the garage, Reyes' shoulders seemed to sink with the question. "But, it's been good, all things considered. Got the business up and running, as you can see. How is your girl doing?"

Sam could feel a light blush warm her cheeks as she thought back to the night before Lara left, and that last lingering kiss she had received before watching her leave. "That's kind of the reason we haven't been by before this.. Lara was getting worse. But she seems to be doing much better now, she's actually on another expedition."

"Well, that was quicker than I thought." Reyes stepped up to the door of her home, twisting the knob before leading the way in to the little hallway that served as they entryway. The narrowness opened up into a living room that was joined with a small kitchen where Alisha now stood, near the oven with a careful eye on the timer. "What is she searching for this time, and who is funding it, if you are here?"

"She's looking for the treasure of Atlantis, if you can believe it." Sam remembered how ludicrous it had sounded when she was standing there staring at the tablet, and could only imagine how it sounded now, with no evidence sitting on a table in front of her.

"I don't believe it." Reyes chuckled, shaking her head as she sat at the table in the middle of the kitchen. "But belief doesn't seem to factor into what is real in Lara Croft's life."

Sharing the laugh, Sam gave a nod, knowing first hand the way Yamatai had changed the perception of certain things for Lara, and the rest of them. "As for funding, some guy named Ashlee Graves approached her, representing someone.. what is it?" Her friend's eyes had narrowed, and a frown had replaced the grin on her lips when she had heard the name.

"Graves is still kicking?"

"Yeah, he mentioned he knew Lara's dad." Tilting her head, Sam was left confused. "He seemed alright, even if he was a bit off."

"He's bad news. Damn good at the job, but.. I don't know, I wouldn't exactly trust him after seeing the things I saw him do." Reyes rose to her feet and moved to the fridge, pulling two bottles filled with amber liquid from the appliance. "The kind of guy who loves the trouble that follows him, and isn't afraid to deal with it in the worst way."

Sam took the beer that was offered to her, twisting off the cap and downing a large gulp in response to the worry that was now taking hold within her. Letting the cold liquid take the edge off for a moment, she looked over at her friend and attempted to ask her question without sounding fearful. "So is Lara in danger with him?"

"I doubt it, at least not from him directly. He always looked up to Richard, the way I remember it." Reyes took a long draw from her bottle before continuing, her words setting Sam even farther from ease. "But, I don't want to lie to you: If Ashlee Graves is involved, Lara isn't headed into something pretty."


	7. Chapter 5 - Isle of Atlantis

**Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been a bit since I updated this with an actual chapter, so I hope the wait was worth it! After I post Chapter 4 for Graves I will probably go back and post a chapter for my Last of Us fanfic, so it could be a couple weeks before this is updated again, it basically comes down to what I feel like doing. To answer a review: I know that who is talking gets jumbled some times, I try to fix it before I post but some times it slips through. I apologize! Also, I tried to name Quinn's children with names that sounded a bit more 'Classical English' and I named Liu Fang, Fang, because.. well, I like it. Thank you, those of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. I love that some of you are enjoying the story enough to threaten me with hunting me down.(Please don't..?) Also: Two thousand views? Holy-friggin'-crap! Anywho, enjoy the read and let me know what you think, you guys are awesome! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 5

**-Isle of Atlantis-**

_**Uncharted Island, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

Lara's vision swam as she tried to get her bearings. The walls seemed to curve and bend as she got her hands on the floor beneath her, pushing herself back up against the cot with a groan. Focus continued to elude her as she struggled to her feet, using the metal frame of the bed to steady herself as the ship shuddered again, the vessel rocking in the aftereffects of an explosion. The pounding in her head slowly dulled, allowing the screams of terror emanating from the corridor outside her room to replace the ringing sensation.

She could feel her knees shake as she stumbled to the door, hanging onto the wall as her mind struggled to orient itself after the blow she took. The scene outside the room was utter chaos, with the crew running in either direction, their panicked struggles only serving to slow down the progress of learning what was happening to the ship. She made her way into the crowd, pushing with others toward the stairs that led up to the main deck.

As the men and women aboard the ship milled past each other, another explosion shook the frame of the Relentless Gale, this time tossing it violently from side to side. The corridor behind Lara was engulfed in flames as she was thrown into the wall, and fell to the ground quickly as the vessel righted itself. Again, she found herself dazed as she slowly got to her feet, glancing around at the people lying on the ground. Some were moving, groaning softly as they twisted on the floor, others were still, their eyes open and unblinking towards the ceiling.

Below the still bodies, the Relentless began to creak at an increasing volume, and the sensation of dizziness was soon replaced with one of sinking. It was a struggle to keep moving, holding her breath and mentally screaming at herself not to look down as she stepped past what she could only hope was the crew members who would be able to pick themselves back up. By the time her hand settled on the railing of the stairway up to the deck, she broke into a run, charging into the storm that greeted her as she met the fierce night.

The chaos above the crew quarters was of a different sort than the one below, with the contents of a dozen supply crates scattered across the surface of the deck as people ran to secure the lifeboats and lower them to the cold ocean water. Rain came down in sheets, the wind carrying the drops at such a velocity that it stung even when they hit against clothing. Stepping free of the stairway, Lara raised a hand to clear her eyes of the blinding drops, only to find her hand coming away wet with a darker substance. Even in the failing illumination of the deck lights, she could see that it was blood.

The flickering of light through her fingers drew her gaze towards the bow, where she could make out two unmistakable figures. One belonged to a large man, while the other was a small woman, Tiane and Fang, who were hoisting a lifeboat up and off of the deck. Fang was looking her way, shouting words that were lost upon the wind and waving for her to come to them. Stumbling forward, Lara made her way across the deck, narrowly avoiding collisions with other crew members before a massive wave slammed into the side of the ship, washing over the deck and bringing a new chorus of screams as several people were thrown overboard.

Coughing out the liquid she had inhaled, Lara got to her feet quickly this time, becoming more used to the sensation of being knocked around than suited her. Facing the opposite direction she had been heading, the lights of the bridge caught her eyes, bringing her attention to the man hanging on the ladder that led up to the elevated platform. Ashlee was pointing frantically off the port side of the ship, his gaze moving from the direction he was pointing and into the bridge.

Spinning to see what it was he was shouting at, she saw the island looming on the horizon, sitting in the middle of the ocean where no record said it should be. The bow of the ship had begun to turn towards the landmass, and Lara looked back to see Ashlee give an approving nod to the bridge before taking a step down the ladder. The Relentless heaved again as an explosion ripped through the deck, sending shards of torn metal in all directions as it traveled along the spine of the vessel, eventually blowing open the windowed case of the bridge.

The shock wave reached Lara before she could react, throwing her free of the deck, and into the freezing waters below.

* * *

The fight for consciousness was the fiercest Lara Croft had fought in a long while, kicking her feet while her hands clawed endlessly towards the surface. Waves continued to churn above as the currents sought to drag her under, only her frenzied efforts keeping her from being swept off. Breaking through the raging veneer, she sucked in a desperate breath before being plunged down into the depths.

She managed to break the surface again, taking in another breath and the sight of the island, much closer than before, with the currents attempting to drag her along the seabed towards the isle with little change coming from her efforts. Another wave came down over her, thrusting her down and into a rock formation. She felt the impact before being dragged across it's face, feeling the skin tear itself free from her side and leg. Still, she fought against the sea to pull herself towards salvation, staving off pain to remain focused.

A lull in the frequency of the crashing tide allowed her to make some progress toward the isle, the temperature of the sea around her causing her limbs to slow as cold leaked into them. Hope was all but flown from her mind when her hand met resistance before sinking into the ground, sand pushing itself between her fingers. Renewed by this, she clawed her way above the water, halfway onto the beach before her strength finally left her, causing her to collapse down into the mud-like earth.

Freeing her lungs of the seawater that had accompanied her panicked breaths, it seemed like hours passed until she could move again, grasping the sand to pull herself further from the ocean until the constant feeling of water filling her boots was gone. Turning over, the rain splashing down into her face was a minor trade off to the liquid that had attempted to suffocate her only minutes earlier.

Breathing soon came naturally to her, her chest rising and falling in a peaceful enough way that it threatened sleep in the face of her exhaustion. Unwilling to succumb, Lara pulled herself up, ignoring the protests of her battered limbs as she reached her feet. Her first thought was to check the pistol still secured in it's holster, but her hand fumbled past the weapon to pull open the pocket that sat halfway down her leg, just below the gash left on her from the rocks. The picture within was soaked, but still in one piece, bringing a sigh of relief as she returned it to the pocket. Taking a moment to calm her nerves, she straightened and started to observe the island she had washed up on. She sat on the far side of a huge cove, the other side far enough away that it disappeared under the cover of darkness.

The water within it was littered with debris from the ship, crates filled with buoyant items, even a shredded life raft that was tossed around on the surface, devoid of any sign that it's occupants had made it to the shore. Step after step, Lara willed herself down the beach, keeping close to the waterline as she did. A lightning flash lit the area, revealing part of the platform that had once housed the bridge of the Relentless Gale, and stretched out on the warped metal, she spotted a body. It was a man, face down on the platform, the waves crashing up and over the frames that once housed windows.

Groaning as she spun him over, the features, though covered in small cuts from broken glass, were easily identifiable. "Graves!" Shaking him for a moment, she put her ear to his mouth, watching his chest just as Roth had taught her, only taking a few seconds to determine that he was not breathing. Pulling his jaw down to open his mouth while squeezing his nose shut with her other hand, she placed her lips to his and blew into him, giving five quick breaths before she rose and placed her hands on his chest, one over the other.

Pressing down in threes, she counted under her breath as the seconds dragged on, gritting her teeth as she did. "You are not doing this to me, you bastard!" Finishing the compressions, she moved back to perform mouth-to-mouth again, this time only getting two breaths in before Ashlee reacted beneath her, convulsing as he awoke. Lara pulled away from his face, helping him turn onto his side as his body expelled the water that had been trapped inside his lungs.

She rose to her feet and bent to hook her hands under his shoulders, pulling him from the waves that continued to crash into the beach and dragging him back. She let him go quicker than she meant to, collapsing to the ground next to the man as he coughed out the last remnants of his drowning. Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes against the rain, hearing him calm somewhat before he spoke, his voice quiet, but still audible from where she lay. "You should just not get on ships. Ever."

A weak laugh was the only response she could muster as she tried to regain what little strength she could, opening her eyes and looking over. Ashlee had a hand on his chest, his eyes searching the area despite being prone. "We need to get further inland." She found her voice was ragged, a burning sensation at the back of her throat left from the salt water that had dragged across the sensitive tissue. "Find somewhere that looks over the beach."

Nodding his agreement, her companion began to rise, groaning and clutching at his chest. She hurried to her feet to help him up, ducking under one of his arms and keeping him supported as they limped away from the water together. It was a distance down the beach from where they had lay that they found a bluff that jutted out from the nearby cliffs, towering over the small area of beach where they had both washed up. It took a lot of effort on both their parts to get themselves up the steep slope on onto the bluff, with Ashlee dipping down to his knees as soon as the ground leveled out, taking Lara down with him.

The cliffs above provided cover from the rain, making the struggle worthwhile as she glanced over. Her companion was on his knees, coughing from the exertion, but looking otherwise unharmed. "Will you be okay here?" Glancing back out over the cove, she wondered how many others were washed up but unconscious in the surf, in need of a rescuer as she sat there.

"Go, I just need a few minutes." The way he said it, weakened but with a conviction, told her he wouldn't stay put for long, the same idea that had reached her crossing his mind. But his condition would prevent him moving soon, as she helped him to the cliff face so that he could sit. Turning, she saw the cove light up again as lightning struck.

A second wind reached Lara as she placed a hand on the edge of the bluff and jumped down, sliding on the slick incline before dispersing her momentum with a run. Her feet sunk into the soft sand as she made her way down the beach, shouting out the names she actually knew. No answer came, as her voice was lost in the roar of the storm that raged above. Another flash of lightning afforded a moment of clarity, showing her someone bobbing in the surf a few feet from the shoreline. Running back into the freezing water, she made it to the person, a woman, in no time.

Grasping the cold hand, she pulled towards the shore, only to find that the torso came along easily, attached to nothing below the waist. "Oh God.." A sickening feeling rose in her chest as she stepped back from the body, her stomach churning as she took notice of the red-tinted water in the immediate area. Her sickness was thankfully interrupted by cries that came on the wind, causing her to look around before she saw their origin, a sandbar some distance out into the cove, where a figure could be seen amidst the backdrop of the burning ship that was nearing the island.

Plunging herself into the ocean past the body, she found the currents did not fight against her like where she had washed up, with the sandbar breaking the waves. Her broad strokes brought her to the other survivor faster than she thought they would, feeling sand beneath her boots as she rose out of the water, met with relative calm as the storm died down. There were two survivors, both drenched from the water, and one holding another as she cried out to Lara for help.

As she neared, she recognized them both, Aiden and Olivia Galeforth. Olivia was cradling her brother's head in her lap, looking up with an expression of anguish. "Help! H-he hit his head when our raft crashed into the rocks! I can't wake him up!"

Sliding as she neared the two, she took the man from the younger woman's grasp, laying him on the sand as she bent to put her head near his mouth, just as she had done for Ashlee. The sight of his chest rising and falling slowly brought a sigh of relief as she then checked his head, finding no open wounds, only the angry red mark where he had hit. The tension seemed to dissolve from her body, fast enough it made her want to laugh as she looked up to Olivia with a smile. "He'll be okay, we just need to get him back to shore."

Taking her brother from the ground to hug him tightly, the younger woman's eyes widened as she looked Lara over. "Are..are you okay?" Her only answer was an eyebrow raised in confusion as Olivia continued. "Your head, you are bleeding pretty bad."

Raising a hand, she found it coming away slick with blood, just as it had on the deck. This time, however, she could feel the gash she had received after being bashed into her locker, sitting just above her right eye. It wasn't deep, but was bleeding enough that it had made it down to her cheek, despite her time in the water. "I'm fine. Now come on, Graves is back at shore. We need to get out of this storm."

"Ashlee made it.. Have you seen my father?"

"I haven't, I'm sorry." Lara stepped back into the water, gently pulling Aiden with her until she could stand him, supporting his weight just as she had for Ashlee, silently thankful that the younger man was smaller than her. Olivia seemed to take the news in stride, sliding into the water to pick up her brother's other side as the two made their way across the shallow part of the cove. It was only thanks to their shared effort that they made it back to the shore, pulling the unconscious man from the water and stumbling their way up the beach.

She steered the two siblings the long way around the body she had found, sparing them that sight as they headed to the incline that led up to the meeting place. It was significantly easier to get Aiden up, despite him being dead weight, with the help of Olivia, who pushed ahead with more effort than Lara could give after the beating she took getting to the shore. Reaching the top, they found it empty, with only a glance from the younger woman to mirror the question in her own mind.

"Dammit, Graves.." Setting the man down near the rocky face of the cliff, she looked out across the cove, seeing Ashlee climbing aboard the part of the platform she had found him on. "Olivia, stay here." The other woman didn't protest as Lara slid down the hill once again, heading for the twisted chunk of metal that remained of the Relentless' bridge. Her strides were long and purposeful, but no longer the frenzied hurry she had held before, the energy fading from her as she felt the various cuts and bruises on her body catching up.

When she reached the piece of the wreck, a box, blackened and singed from the explosion, was thrown out over her head. Ashlee emerged a few seconds later, falling from the platform to the sand below with a groan. Even as she moved to help him, he straightened and shook his head at her, the storm picking up again. He bent to pick up the box before moving over to her, the mocking grin on his face turning to a grimace as he raised a hand to his chest, coughing a few times before straightening. "You didn't need to come after me!"

His shout, barely audible over the wind, was only answered with a glare from her, as she turned and led the way back to their temporary camp. She made it to the top first, turning to catch the box as it was thrown to her. It was metal, built with the same designs as the briefcases that had been brought to her containing the tablet and the scrolls a few days ago. The damage across it's surface looked mostly superficial, but she had to wonder what was so important it couldn't have waited.

Ashlee ran up the hill with a deftness that belied the injuries she knew he was carrying now, moving onto the bluff and taking the case from her. Lara sighed as she looked back to see Olivia sitting next to her brother, who was still unconscious. "Olivia, you alright?" His voice was loud enough to sound over the storm, but it still held a softness about it.

"I'm fine, so is Aiden, thanks to Lara." Looking past the man, the younger woman gave her a smile that she met with a nod before Olivia continued. "Father made sure we were on the first lifeboat off the ship, but it capsized on the rocks around this place.. I found him on the sandbar out there."

"Well, don't worry, we'll make sure you both get back home, okay?" Smiling at the girl for a moment, Ashlee turned back to face Lara, his expression taking a grim look as his voice dropped so that only she could hear. "We need to move further inland, find shelter from this storm."

Lara shook her head, her gaze drawn to the cove, unable to see much farther than where she had already looked for survivors. In the distance, the fire flickered to signal the Relentless Gale, closer than before, but also lower. She didn't think the ship would make it to ground before sinking completely. "We need to see if anyone else is still alive out here."

"Lara, no. It's cold, and we are too exposed. We'll be dead before the night is over if we stay." She opened her mouth to suggest that she could stay here and attempt to find others, but he didn't give her the chance to speak. "You can't save everyone. Would've thought you had learned that by now." Lara felt her mouth drop open, and saw the silent apology in his eyes as he said it, but he maintained his position, and she knew he was right. "We can return after the storm subsides, look for survivors then." Nodding, she moved past him to help Olivia carry her brother.

* * *

It took them an hour to find the cave along the cliffs, the entrance barely visible under the cover of darkness and the storm. It wasn't deep, just enough space to hold the four of them and a few others if need be. Aiden had awoke shortly after they arrived, expressing shock at who had been his rescuer, but otherwise remaining silent. Olivia stayed by his side, watching Lara as she took the time to stack the few pieces of dry tinder she had found into a small pyramid. Glancing around for something to light it, her search turned up nothing. She was about to give up when Olivia handed her a lighter, nodding in her brother's direction with a small smile on her lips.

Ashlee spent his time trying to force the lock on the box he had collected from the wreck, the mechanism keeping it shut had partially melted. As he slammed a rock into the metal, he didn't say much, only glancing over when the fire sparked to life. The temperature slowly rose in their small shelter, leaving only discomfort and pain as the things that kept Lara's exhaustion at bay, the hard ground beneath her lending itself greatly to this aspect. Each injury suddenly came into focus after sitting down. The gash above her eye had bled for a long while before drying, like all head wounds, but it was the marks left by being dragged over the rocks in the cove that hurt the most. The blood had clotted, but each new movement cracked the scabs open, her clothing pulling away before becoming stuck to the skin again.

"Ashlee..?" Olivia's voice broke the quiet that had fallen over the cave, drawing the gaze of the other two occupants, along with Lara's. The younger woman's soft voice sounded strong despite the effort she had exerted to carry her brother here. "Do you know what happened to my father?"

Ashlee set down the box, rocking back off of his knees to a crouching position as he turned to look at the woman who had posed the question. "I don't, I'm sorry. He wasn't on the bridge when it blew, and I didn't see him before that." His eyes drifted to Lara, who met his gaze with a tilted head. "The storm's letting up. Can I use your gun?"

She took a long moment to listen to the weather outside before she flicked the strap on her holster, pulling the silver pistol from it's resting place and handing it to the man. "What's in there, anyway?"

Taking it, Ashlee paused for a moment, staring at her gun with an look of recognition before nodding his thanks. "Just some things I made sure we had for just this kind of situation." Groaning as he stood, he kicked the box to the side of the cave, taking careful aim before firing one shot. The sound caused all of them to cringe and cover their ears as the sound was amplified by the rounded acoustics of their shelter. Lara saw him shake his head in an attempt to get rid of the ringing that she felt in her own ears as he handed the pistol back to her, moving forward to stomp on the side of the box, bringing the satisfying sound of the lock breaking.

The man gave a triumphant yell, bending to open the case. Lara rose, fighting against her body as it protested the effort, and moved over to examine the contents. Tightly packed together were two pistols, held in two wildly different holsters, four radios that were a dull gray color, and two climbing axes, much like the one Roth had given her a year ago after he was injured. Taking the ax that sat atop the rest of the box's contents, she looked at Ashlee with a raised eyebrow. The man looked over while he removed one of the pistols and began strapping the holster across his chest, which left the weapon atop his rib cage. "What? I picked some things up from the old man."

Lara grinned, nodding as she caught the radio that was tossed her way, clipping it to her belt before standing. Ashlee took the other pistol and a radio from the box, turning and offering them to Olivia, who only looked at him in surprise. "Why don't I take those?" Aiden leaned in to take the offerings, and glaring when they were pulled back.

"Because I don't trust you, and I know your sister is the better shot. Take this, just in case." The girl's lips broke into a small smile at that, and she wrapped a hand around the weapon's grip, taking it from Ashlee with the other device. "Now, Lara and I are going back down to the beach. Stay here, we will be back."

"Thanks.. you two be safe." With a small smile, Olivia looked between the two of them, before Lara met her eyes and gave a short nod, turning to lead the way from the cave.

* * *

Reaching the beach wasn't difficult, the absence of rain making the terrain much easier to negotiate to climb down the rocky slopes to reach the bluff they had used as a meeting place. With the dawn's light beginning to show itself from beyond the horizon, they were treated to their first real sight of the entire cove. It was bigger than Lara had thought, stretching for what could be miles in a gigantic crescent that formed a natural harbor.

They stood near one end, the remnants of the bridge just below them, while on the other sat a grim sight. The Relentless Gale was beached against the rounded jetty, stranded when the tide had gone out. Fires that had signaled it's position in the night were now billowing clouds of smoke, and it's once polished hull shredded open and exposed to the air. "My god. Well, there might still be something useful aboard, and we can check for survivors along the way. Come on." Letting her companion lead the way, Lara remained where she was, the wreck of the Relentless eerily reminiscent of the last time she had seen the Endurance.

Alex had died to get her out of there, and she had in turn gotten the remaining crew off the island. The fear that rose to overwhelm her as she delved into her memories was pushed down by one recollection in particular, spoken by the man who had been like a father to her. _"You can do this, Lara."_ She landed with a groan next to the thief, who looked over in concern. "Sure you're up for this?"

"I'm fine. You're the one who was half drowned, how are you holding up?" Without meeting his eyes, she took the first steps towards the husk of the ship that had borne them here.

Ashlee followed, his steps audible only when he stepped on the warped pieces of metal that now littered the sand, pushed inward by the waves to now rest as adornments on the beach that had seemed so comforting after the currents had sought to shake her from the world of the living. "My chest hurts, but it's manageable."

Walking on in silence, the minutes dragged by before they reached the life raft that had been visible from the bluff, with Ashlee kicking it over to reveal the gutted bottom. "This is probably what took down Olivia's boat." Lara nodded in quiet agreement, seeing no sign of the supplies that should have been strapped into the side compartments. "Speaking of the kids, are you going to be okay with Aiden around? You didn't do more than glance at him after you saved them both."

"I can work with him." She looked up, catching the narrowed eyes and raised eyebrow that spelled skepticism, and met it with a glare. Ashlee folded first, shrugging before moving on towards the beached ship. Up close, the damage looked more severe than before, with a large chunk of the hull below it stripped away, making it look half sunk into the sand. It all brought a sharp whistle from her companion as she commented on her doubts. "We probably won't find much left."

"Still gotta try." He took a few steps back before moving around the bow of the massive vessel, climbing the rocks that formed the jetty. Halfway down the length of the ship, they found a hole that lead into a room on the crew deck, most of it gone but still allowing enough of a foothold for them to enter. Lara kept a hand on the remains of the room's locker, the tilt of the wreck making standing more difficult on her injured leg.

Ashlee spun the door's handle, the seals meant to keep water from flowing through made a noise of protest as he smashed his shoulder into the portal and forced it inward, almost being flung into the hallway before he let go of the handle. Straightening, he looked over at Lara with a grin. "What are the chances?"

Stepping in after him, she saw the source of his question. They had stepped into the corridor that had housed their rooms, and the sheer coincidence of it bringing a laugh from both of them as they moved quickly to gain entrance to their own quarters. Lara's door gave way easily, having not been sealed after she had been flung into the wall the first time. Inside, the contents of the room were not at all similar to what they had looked like the last she had seen them, with books in every corner imaginable. The tablet that had led them to this island, however, still sat upon the table, which looked like it had barely survived being wrenched from the wall in the chaos.

Stepping forward, she ran a hand over the ancient stone, remembering the strange glow that had come from it just before catastrophe had struck. It took only a second to decide what to do with it, opening the briefcase that was wedged between the cot's frame and the wall, and sliding the tablet back into it's place. "Why in the world would you care about that thing?" Turning as she snapped the locks into place, she saw Ashlee standing in the doorway, a backpack now slung over one shoulder.

"It led us here, the rest of the translations might help." Turning to open the locker, she could see the smear of blood from where her head had impacted the painted metal, which drew her gaze to the mirror. It was a grisly sight, the gash over her eye looking worse than it actually was, with dried blood caked down the bridge of her nose and over her cheek. Looking away, she pulled the door of the locker open, revealing the duffel the held the only items she had packed. Lara took the bag and slid her arm through it's straps before picking up the briefcase and turning to Ashlee.

"Fair enough. Let's check the galley next, then head to Quinn's room. If it's still intact, we'll find a beacon there." Following the man out of her room, she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings as the glow that she had seen before the wreck consumed her thoughts. She was afraid to discount anything that could explain it, after what the last expedition had did to her perception of what was possible.

Lara didn't notice that Ashlee had stopped, but did hear him suck in a breath as they rounded the corner to the main hallway of the crew quarters, which brought her eyes up from the floor. It was hard to miss what had given him pause, the floor was taken by the bodies of those who had been thrown into the walls, just as she had during the ships violent upheaval. Some were charred by the explosions, while others had left a stain of their blood upon the blackened metal.

Ashlee was able to walk forward, a hard look in his eyes as he stepped over those who were prone beneath him, but it stopped her in her tracks. _It's all my fault. _"I'm sorry."

Her companion glanced back, barely catching her quiet words. "What?"

"I'm sorry." The exhaustion Lara felt now was a sharp contrast to the one that had gripped her since being blown overboard. It made her muscles sag with weakness, laden with the guilt of the deaths she could now confirm were on her head. It kept her eyes on the corpses of the fallen, regret forcing her to witness them. "It's my fault, it's all my fault." The last time she had uttered those words, into a yellow radio to Roth, tears had formed in her eyes. This time, no tears gathered upon her lashes, it was only a crushing feeling in her chest, paralyzing and fueled by fear.

Suddenly, her vision was tilted upward, Ashlee's hand under her chin as he stepped in front of her, blocking the sight of the bodies. "Listen to me, don't let that voice in your head take hold. Focus on the objective, and deal with the guilt later." His hazel eyes held hers with the same intensity they had when he had tried to convince her to come with him to find this island. "This isn't on you. Now, I need you at your best, Croft. Pull yourself together and come on."

Glued to his gaze for a few seconds more, she finally broke it to nod, pushing away the emotion and letting her instincts take control again. _The objective.._ "Supplies, the beacon, get off the island." A deep breath was taken on it's own, helping immensely. "..I'm fine, let's go."

Ashlee waited until he was satisfied that she was telling the truth before he turned and continued on down the hallway. This time, Lara followed, mimicking him in keeping her eyes from straying downwards. They reached the galley stairs quickly, only to find that most of them were gone, revealing a path straight down to the rocks below. The corner that turned into the large room was still intact, but it was a long jump, enough that she felt it would be pushing her luck in her current state.

Nevertheless, she sat the case down. "Toss it to me when I'm across." Without waiting for him to agree, she took the leap, clearing the gap with an ease that made her want to cheer until she landed. From the back of her knee to the midpoint of her thigh, she could feel the cut flare as her leg took the brunt of the landing, causing her to collapse against the wall to avoid falling to the floor.

"Whoa! You okay?" Turning, she could see the concern in his features, but she dismissed it with a nod, beckoning with a hand for him to throw the briefcase to her. Ashlee shook his head at her attitude before conceding to request, easily tossing the metal container across the tear in the ship and into her waiting hands.

Lara sat it against the wall, looking back just in time to see him take a few steps back before running forward and pitching himself over to her. He landed on the lip of what remained of the hallway, causing the whole thing to shudder under the added weight. Before either of them could react, the ground gave way beneath the man, and his footing was lost. She managed to catch his hand as he fell, both of them yelling in pain as the strain tugged on their arms, but they remained linked, allowing the thief to throwing his other hand up and establish a hold to pull himself back to safety.

Using her weight to drag him over, Lara fell back when gravity stopped working against them, landing on her backside near the wall. On his hands and knees, Ashlee took a moment to steady his breath before he looked up and met her gaze, immediately grinning and letting out a delirious laugh. She joined him, feeling a grin take her lips as she threw back her head. It died down quickly as they both climbed to their feet, but she found herself enjoying it, a few seconds of levity to an otherwise shitty day.

Moving forward with a new pain in the joint of her right shoulder, she stepped into the galley, only to be welcomed by a continuation of bad luck. Most of the large room was gone, the jagged tears telling of how it had been torn open by an explosion, leaving only twisted tables and chairs that sat in the positions they had been thrown to. One whole side was gone, affording them a view of the cove outside.

"Well..maybe there's something left." Ashlee only chuckled at her incredulous expression as he moved to check behind the counter that the cooks had served from, wrenching open the door that led into the stock room. "That's about what I expected."

Moving to join him, Lara looked past the man to the room beyond. Again, most of it was simply gone, consumed by the destruction, showing a ruined area of the engineering deck below. One shelf remained intact, holding two boxes of canned goods that had been brought along to feed the crew, and only a dozen water bottles. "It's something."

As they moved to collect the fruits of their efforts, it was her companion's turn to look shocked by her words. "Look at you, being optimistic."

She gave no answer as she stuffed the cans from the boxes into her bag until it reached it's limit, the zipper barely able to travel over it's length to close the duffel. Ashlee did the same with the water, managing to fit all of the bottles into his pack before he left the room. He was scratching at the stubble along his jaw when she emerged, looking at a door that sat on the far side of the galley, across the gaping maw in the middle of the room. "We don't have to..?"

"We'll just have to stick to the wall to get across, I guess. Not impossible." He shrugged as he walked towards the hole, squeezing himself against the wall to slide along the few inches of floor that was left. Lara followed, keeping herself flat as she balanced her weight with that of the cans that now burdened her bag. They had reached the halfway point when the metal began to groan, and the vibrations coming through the ship conveyed that it's perch was beginning to deteriorate. As it settled again, they finished the last leg of their movement, breath coming much easier once they were back on relatively solid ground. "Let's finish this up before the ship tips over, yeah?"

Lara couldn't help but agree, nodding as she gestured to the door. "After you." The journey to Galeforth's room was more merciful, the path clear of any of the expected obstacles. The door at the end of the short hallway was open, revealing the sunlight that was coming in from a window within the room, announcing that dawn had come quicker than she had thought it would. The room behind the portal was untouched by the fires that had consumed almost every other part of the ship, but part of the ceiling had collapsed.

"And here I was getting ready to gnaw my leg off to get out of here." The voice came from the side of the room, causing both of them to turn. Alison sat against the wall, pinned by a beam that had fallen in the collapse. The white jacket she had been wearing that last Lara had seen her was now sporting a dark red sleeve, dyed by the blood from a wound that was hidden beneath the clothing.

"Ali!" Ashlee moved first, recovering from the shock to drop his pack and bend to try and lift the weight that jailed his friend. "Lara, help me with this!"

She was already moving before he had told her, gripping the bottom of the beam and pulling upwards with all her strength. Their combined efforts were enough to lift it free from the woman, moving it away from her before dropping it. Just as it had in the galley, the whole ship seemed to shudder in protest, the balance upset by their movements. Lara paid it no mind this time, instead moving to help Alison to her feet. "You're a mess."

The green eyes shined with a playfulness as a smile formed on the other woman's lips. "You should see the other guy."

Ashlee, taking his friend's other arm with a soft touch, gave a relieved chuckle. "Ali, the other guy is a support beam."

"Fucker's broken, ain't it? I call that a win." Leaning heavily into Lara, the woman looked between them. "Came for the emergency beacon, right? It's already gone."

"Quinn?" Ashlee took a step back, his disappointment manifesting as a frustrated sigh.

"No idea, haven't seen him since he pushed me into the same boat as his kids. And let me tell you, I did a damn good job with that one, lost them within ten minutes." The tone of annoyance was the closest Lara had seen Alison come to an expression of regret, prompting her to speak up as she let the woman find her own feet, not needing the support she had offered her.

"We found them, Aiden and Olivia. Both are okay."

Alison opened her mouth to respond, the corners of her lips turned upwards in the beginning of a smile that froze. They all froze, with Ashlee leaning over the bed, his hand halfway inside one of the many bags in search of anything useful, and Lara standing with her head tilted as the sound reached her. It was the sound of engines running, dozens of them, coming through the broken window. The green-eyed woman was the first to ask the question they all were thinking. "Is that..boats?"

Moving all at once, they made their way from the room at a speed near sprinting, reaching the galley in only a few seconds. Ashlee was the first out, pulling a pair of binoculars from his pack and raising them to his eyes. Lara took the flank opposite of the other woman, looking out over the cove and the sea beyond. A ship, smaller than the Relentless Gale, but still sizable, sat in the waters off the coast of the island. Smaller boats, propelled by the noisy engines attached to their backs, carried passengers toward the beach at breakneck speeds. "That's a quick rescue."

Glancing at Alison, Lara nodded. "They might have just seen the wreck and are coming to investigate."

"They are carrying some pretty heavy hardware for a rescue party." Ashlee was scanning the rafts that were nearing the shore. "Makes Quinn's security team look like amateurs.. Oh, fuck." The man dropped the binoculars from his eyes, a look of disbelief taking hold over his features.

Lara tried to focus on where he had been looking before he cursed, finding nothing different from the other boats. "What? What is it?"

Glancing at his partner-in-crime before looking to her, Ashlee's eyes were wide with a look she hadn't seen in them before, even when he had been revived from nearly drowning. Fear. "It's Jacob Corin."


	8. Chapter 6 - Voices

**Author's Note: Sorry it has been so long since I've updated this. Some of you already know, but I went back and finished my Last of Us fanfic that I had abandoned for a few months. Anyway, I'm back to working on this and Graves, and in the effort of getting a chapter out sooner rather than later, this one is a bit short. Also, a reminder for anyone who didn't already know: If you want some backstory, go read Graves! Enjoy, and let me know what you think! -Foxinstrazt Update(3/9): Hey guys, it could be a few days before there is another update. I'm working on the outline for this story from this point to the end. Once that is done I'll start working on the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 6

**-Voices-**

_**Uncharted Island, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

Lara's breath came in small gasps as she followed Ashlee down the stairs, moving down through the decks toward where they had entered. Ali was right on her heels, the woman stumbling a few times but keeping up, despite her injuries. As they reached the hole that was only a few feet from the rocks below, the man in front of her stopped and placed his hands upon his knees, taking in light breaths after the exertion of running back this way. "Who is Jacob Corin?"

Her question was met with a glance from the hazel eyes, but Ali wasn't waiting for her friend to collect his thoughts, moving forward and raising her voice. "He's a guy that should be dead, right Graves?" No answer came from the man as he jumped down to the rocks below, looking back up towards them.

"Come on, we've got to get off this beach." He adjusted the pack on his shoulder before taking off down the natural jetty. Lara followed him, landing on her wounded leg with a growl before setting the case she was carrying down and turning to catch the woman who jumped after her. Stumbling into her, the other woman gave only a nod and pointed towards where their companion had ran off, wincing with each step she took in his direction.

Retrieving the briefcase containing the tablet, Lara moved to join the other two, who were peering past the wreckage of the Relentless Gale towards the cove they had washed up in. She looked over as she neared them, seeing that the men in the boats had already made it to the beach not far from where she had pulled herself from the water, and more were joining them every minute. "We might be able to sneak by them?"

"No." Ashlee's voice drew her gaze as he looked to the cliffs that separated the cove from the rest of the island. "We need to move inland, and circle back around to the cave. If we're lucky, we can get there before them and retreat inland, hopefully find the rest of the crew."

"Graves, who is this guy?" He met her gaze, the fear she had seen on the deck still evident in his eyes as he shook his head, pulling the radio from his belt.

"Olivia, you need to get out of the cave. Stick next to the cliffs and head away from the beach." Letting up on the button, he waited a few seconds of the silence before pressing it in again. "Did you get that?"

It was Aiden who answered, his voice crackling through the device. "We got it. We'll be leaving the cave shortly." Ali looked at Lara, who met her eyes before flicking them back to Ashlee. The man clipped the radio onto his belt once again and turned towards the cliffs, jumping off the jetty to the sand of the beach.

"Come on!"

* * *

It took an hour for them to sort out a path that actually traveled through the mountainous terrain, finally emerging on the other side in an unfamiliar part of the forest. Lara felt like her entire body was trying to shut down, from the muscles that ached with deep bruises to the skin that had been scraped away from her right leg and back on the rocks of the cove. Her head was attempting to pound itself open hard enough that every flash of light through the leaves on the trees brought a new meaning of agony.

They were moving along the cliffs and heading toward the cave they had left the Galeforth siblings when Ali had to stop, the woman sliding down against a trunk and groaning as she held her side. Turning and moving back, Lara bent to examine her, pulling the side of the jacket that was bloodied away from her body. Some of the fluid had dried, but the wound itself was still open, a deep cut that had split the flesh on her shoulder. "We need to get that dressed, and soon."

"I'm fine.. I just need to rest for a minute." Ashlee joined them, though the man crouched down a few feet away, his hand rising to the grip of the pistol strapped to his chest before falling away. He repeated the motion twice as she moved over and sat down beside him, looking more on edge than she had ever seen him before.

"We should have come across them by now, yeah?"

He looked at her, nodding. "We're pretty close to the cave." Opening his mouth, the man looked as if he were struggling with what he was about to tell her, but his words were interrupted as the sounds of voices reached them. Far enough away that she could not make out what exactly was being said, Lara glanced back at Ali before rising and pushing through the brush toward where the sounds were originating from.

The break in the trees revealed the cave they had found shelter in earlier that day, now guarded by six of the men they had seen landing upon the beach. She was just beginning to move a hand to the pistol at her thigh when a voice came from behind them. "Don't move." Turning, she saw another of the soldiers aiming his weapon at them, beckoning for them to get to their feet. As they complied, a look of excitement broke out over the man's features. "Holy shit. Guys, I found Graves! Over he-" His words were cut short as the man jerked, falling forward to his knees before collapsing to the ground, a knife buried at the base of his skull.

Ali was revealed as the man fell, moving like a cat through the bushes and retrieving her weapon. The woman held onto her wounded arm as she pulled the knife from the corpse, groaning as she did so. Lara sorted through the shock quicker than the man at her side, pulling her pistol and turning to fire through the trees, clipping one of the soldiers that were advancing on them before she turned to run. Ashlee followed her, leaning to collect the other thief and pull her up to her feet as bullets began showering the forest near them.

* * *

Ashlee didn't know how long they ran, sprinting through the trees well after the firing had stopped, not knowing if the other men were still pursuing them. The only delays he afforded was the few seconds it took to pull Ali back to her feet whenever she stumbled, dragging her onward. His lungs began to feel like they could no longer carry on, still weak from the drowning he had narrowly escaped, when they came across another cave, tucked into a hillside away from the cliffs they had first hidden in. This one was wider than the other had been, traveling further back into the depths of the island.

Letting go of the woman he had held onto since they had started running, he dropped to his knees beside her, panting in an almost desperate manner. Lara wasn't as keen on getting a break as he was, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as she looked over at him from where she had collapsed, her tone demanding. "Who is this Corin guy?"

"More importantly.." Ali's voice drew his gaze, her green eyes filled with fury. "Why is he still alive?"

It made him snap, the exhaustion fraying the edges of his patience until it cracked. Pushing off of the ground and rising to his feet, he yelled out his next words. "Because I didn't kill him! I shot him in the knee and left him to die because it felt like what the bastard deserved, alright?!" Shaking his head as he looked over both of the wounded women, he struggled against his temper, lowering his voice. "Get yourselves patched up. I'll keep watch, in case we haven't lost them."

Sliding his pack off of his shoulder and letting it fall to the ground, he reached in and drew forth the medical kit he had taken from Quinn's office while they had been on board the Relentless, tossing it over to Lara before rising and moving to the entrance. He didn't dare look back at his companions as he watched the surrounding forest for any sign of movement. The kit was opened and it's contents rummaged through behind him as the women began to help each other with their injuries.

_You should have killed him when you had the chance, Lesley. _He blinked and shook his head as the name came forward in his mind, something he hadn't thought about in years. Gripping the pistol in his hand tighter, he dismissed it as a lack of sleep, feeling the desire to collapse on the hard rock beneath him and drift away. "Holy fuck."

The shock evident in Alison's voice made him look over for the first time in the minutes of silence between the three of them. His friend's left shoulder was exposed, leaving the jacket she had worn on only one arm, and a bandage visible around the skin under the purple shirt. But what truly arrested his gaze was what she had exclaimed about, having lifted Lara's shirt from behind to dress the wounds the woman had received in her struggle to make it to the beach. The right side of the younger woman's back was a mess of fresh scrapes that looked painful, but not serious. Opposite that was a different story, showing a scar that looked like a mangled star, the skin stretched and puckered in ways that seemed to defy what he thought people could actually survive.

From where he sat, he could see the front as well, the skin looking as if it was burned on top of the wound she had sustained. "What the fuck happened?" Ali's question didn't provoke any reaction from Lara except a tightening of her eyes, and the look in the dark brown orbs that told Ashlee she had been pulled into a memory. "..Right, sorry. Um, I'm gonna need you to lie down though, your leg is bleeding pretty heavily." Alison looked his way, her eyes going wide for a moment as her eyes flitted to what she had seen and back to him. Ashlee could only nod, returning his gaze to the forest outside as Lara rose to her feet and began to unbuckle the belt holding her pants up.

* * *

"_Lara. Hey, sleepyhead, wake up." My eyes slowly slide open, blinking as the sun blinds me for a few seconds. I'm in my room, back in London, but I'm in Sam's bed. The mattress beneath me is comfortably soft compared to the cot I have suffered on for the last few days aboard.._

_Aboard what? I can't remember what I had been doing for the previous week or two, but I know that relaxation is what I need right now. I rise up to my elbows, my body responding better than I expected it to as I look over at the woman who spoke to me. She's glowing in the light of the morning, illuminating her dark features in ways that only enhance her beauty._

_The golden skin, only a few shades lighter than mine, looks as soft as it did the day I left. Sam moves closer to the bed, climbing atop me and grinning down in a way that hints at sin. I can only smile back as she lowers herself down to me. "You need to get up, you've got a big day ahead of you." Her lips meet mine and I'm captured in their lock, savoring the flavors I have waited so long to taste. She repositions herself as her lips are pulled back from mine, giving a cute giggle as I feel her knee move up between my legs. Pushing back against her advance, I wrap my arms around her neck and pull her back into the kiss, a soft moan escaping from me as she presses into the embrace._

* * *

Lara's eyes shot open as she bit her lower lip to prevent the noise she had been making from sounding out again, feeling her heart race with the lasting exhilaration from the dream. Sweat clung to her skin as she lay upon the cold rock of the cave's floor, shuddering in the aftereffects of the fantasy she had been caught in. Releasing the tension in her jaw, she took in a shaky breath, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the duffel she had used as a pillow.

The pounding in her head had ceased into a dull ache, no longer originating from the gash just above her eye. Her back and leg felt stiff, but the pain from them wasn't as clear as it had been earlier, prompting her to rise up to a sitting position. Alison was still asleep a few paces from her, curled up and using the bloodied jacket as a resting place for her head. A glance towards the entrance revealed that Ashlee was awake, gripping the pistol in his hand over and over as he watched the area outside. "Do you ever plan on sleeping?"

He didn't seem to be aware of the sounds she had made previously, looking over with a surprised expression. There was a new raggedness apparent in his eyes, clearly announcing that he had not even closed his eyes since they had fallen asleep. "You should get some rest while you can, Lara."

She didn't heed his advice, pulling herself up off the ground and moving over, stretching the limbs that had settled into awkward positions during the night. Sliding down next to the man, she looked out into the forest, seeing that it was still pitch black, the sounds of insect life reaching the cave's entrance. "What really happened? Between you and Corin."

Ashlee looked away, shaking his head. "He threatened Ali, so I shot him and left him to die." The way he was holding his weapon changed somewhat, and he began to tap his fingers against the metal. "It wasn't survival, it wasn't in self-defense. I wanted him to suffer, pure and simple." His eyes slid over to meet her gaze, and she could see the conflict held within, hear it in the way his voice dropped to a whisper. "And the thing is, I'm okay with what I did."

"Then why are you so on edge?"

"It's you." His words made her lean back, raising an eyebrow. "And Ali. Tiane, Fang, Galeforth. ..Olivia. You're all in danger because I didn't just end it back then." Ashlee finally placed a hand upon the ground, stretching out his legs and moving from the crouched position she was sure he had been in since they arrived. He laid the gun he was holding on the rocks next to him, looking away from her. "I saw it in his eyes, back in Chile. He's capable of anything."

Lara waited a few moments before speaking up again. "You aren't responsible for all of this, you know that, right?" In the absence of an answer from the man, her mind began to run over the events that had led to them becoming stranded on this island, from the explosions, to seeing the ship that Jacob Corin and his men had come from. "..It was sabotage."

"Hmm?" Ashlee tore his eyes away from outside to her, a questioning look upon his face.

"What took down the ship. Corin followed us, and someone on the Relentless Gale sabotaged it once we found the island. The timing was too close for it to be an accident." The man blinked, shaking his head for a second before he stopped, the realization dawning on him. "That means someone on the crew is a traitor."

_You know who it was, Lara._ The voice that spoke to her was familiar in a way it couldn't be, originating from outside the cave. She felt the pounding in her head resume as she heard it, her thoughts struggling to explain what she was hearing. "..Roth?"

Ashlee tilted his head, looking like he was coming out of deep thought as she spoke a dead man's name, the confusion telling her that he hadn't heard it. "What?" She didn't answer him, just shaking her head and rising to her feet to move out of the cave and into the darkness. There was no one in the area outside of their shelter, and even if there was, she knew that he was dead. "Lara, you feeling okay?"

Turning to look back at the man who had stood up and followed her, she wasn't sure what she could say to the expression on his face. _First the tablet glows, and now I'm hearing Roth. Am I going insane? _"I.. thought I heard someone's voice."

"I didn't hear anything." His eyes searched the area near them before narrowing with concern as he reached out and pulled her gently back towards the cave. "Maybe I'm not the one who needs some rest?" The man flashed a grin for a moment, chuckling softly.

"No, I'm fine. I just.." _How much do you really know about him, girl? He said he knew me, but can you trust the word of a thief? _Rubbing a hand into her forehead as the voice came again, she tried to focus on the man standing before her. "And you need to sleep, Graves. You look like you are about to drop." Her deflection from her own actions brought a suspicious look from the other, but he gave a nod.

"To be honest, I feel like I'm about to. I'll turn in then, if you're sure you should be on watch..?"

"I'm sure." Lara took a moment, waiting to hear the voice that couldn't exist again before she reacted, faking a smile. "Go get some sleep." It was only after Ashlee turned away that she felt her fingers relax their grip on the pistol strapped to her thigh, and she took in a breath of the chilly night air, shaking with tension she didn't know she had been holding on to. _What is happening to me?_


	9. Chapter 7 - Signs of Struggle

**Author's Note: Ugh, here's some free advice: Don't drink tequila. It ain't fun the next morning. Aside from a splitting headache, it's been a productive last few days. The outlines for every remaining chapter are done and ready to be typed out into the actual chapters. I've got to admit, it really isn't as long as I thought it would be, but that is okay, because I'm not going for length. I already wrote a small book with the Last of Us fic. Also, I'm glad to know at least someone sees chemistry between Lara and Ashlee, 'cause it's supposed to be there. Anywho, you don't want to read this, you want to read the chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for the favs and follows(especially the reviews), and Let me know what you guys think! -Foxinstrazt**

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Chapter 7

**-Signs of Struggle-**

_**Uncharted Island, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

Lara pulled her knees closer to her chest so she could wrap her arms around them, letting out a sigh as she kept a watch on the entrance, watching the sunlight filtering through the trees and shining into the cave they were using as shelter. She didn't notice that one of her companions had stirred until the voice sounded out, the woman standing close to her. "Can I ask you something?" Looking over, she saw that Alison was awake, the short brown hair sticking in several directions from how she had slept. The area between the shoulder and the elbow on the other woman's left arm was wrapped in a bandage, the white material now tinted red. She finally nodded in response to the question, narrowing her eyes as she wondered what was about to be posed to her. "Why did you come with us?"

"What do you mean?" Lara tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at the words.

"I've killed.. a lot of people." The woman gave a groan as she slid down next to her, stretching out her legs and laying back against the wall. "Enough to know that you should be dead." The widening in her eyes told Ali what her next question was going to be. "..The scars on your back."

Lara looked away, back towards the forest she could glimpse outside. She knew how bad the scarring was, having studied it extensively since she awakened in the first hospital after Yamatai, and she hated it. Personally, she had never cared much about it. But, whenever Sam saw it, in the times her shirt would tug up during a stretch, the girl's eyes would tighten and she would look away. "You barely got off that other island, and I don't even know how you managed that one.. but now you're here again."

She didn't respond to Ali right away, lost in her own thoughts before she answered. "It was Sam." Looking over, she met the other woman's questioning gaze. "The only reason I fought so hard was to get her off that island, and it was her support that got me through the days after that. She's the only reason I'm still alive."

"She's a lucky girl, then."

Laughing, Lara shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips as she did. "No, she's had to deal with me for the past year. Me leaving is the best thing that's happened to her since before that island." She chuckled again, this time in a much more dry fashion. "Sam might actually be better off if I didn't come back at all."

"Whoa, where is this coming from?"

Laying her head against the folded arms across her knees, Lara shrugged her shoulders. "I'm starting to feel the cracks.. And Sam doesn't deserve to go through that again."

"Then don't make her. Get back home, kiss your girl. Hell, fuck her." The words drew her eyes back to the green orbs that seemed to glow in the reflection from the dawn's light outside, and the other woman laughed at her surprised reaction. "Oh don't act like it hasn't crossed your mind." Lara felt her cheeks warm considerably as she returned her eyes to the cave's entrance. "All I mean is, you need to fight to get home, because Sam has already accepted all of that baggage you come with. If I found someone like that in the world.. Nothing would stop me from getting back to her."

* * *

The floor of the cave was too hard to provide a good night's sleep, but Ashlee still felt less ragged as he awoke to the sight of a dull gray ceiling above him. Blinking as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, he leaned on his knees before scanning the rest of the shelter they had found last night. Lara and Alison were both near the entrance, laughing quietly as they talked. He found himself smiling at the sight before turning to open the bag that he had laid down next to, pulling out three bottles of water. Rising up with a groan, he stopped and stretched his muscles until he felt his spine pop with a sense of satisfaction, the noises he was making bringing the eyes of his two companions. "Well good morning, lazy ass."

Chuckling at his friend's words, he offered two of the bottles to the women. "What time is it?"

Lara was the one who answered as she took one of the offered bottles, seeming distracted. "Just a bit past noon. You didn't sleep for that long."

"It sure doesn't feel like I did, I've got a headache from hell." Screwing the cap off, he drained the water from it's vessel in less that a minute, letting out a sigh as he moved over to stuff it within the duffel. Picking his bag up and slipping the straps over one shoulder, he turned to see Alison up on her feet.

"Graves, what's the plan?"

"Well, we need to find other survivors from the Relentless. We can't be the only ones." Absentmindedly checking the pistol strapped to his chest, he thought it over. "Then we try to hold out against Corin and his men until rescue arrives, I guess."

The woman talking to him shook her head, sighing as if he had said something wrong. "I meant about Olivia and Aiden. They could still be alive."

"What do you want me to do, Ali?" Lara moved to collect her own duffel, tossing a glance in their direction before she turned to exit the cave, obviously uncomfortable with the atmosphere of the approaching argument. "There are dozens of mercenaries out there. You two are injured and I'm not a hundred percent either."

"I know." His friend wrung her hands together, a sign of nervousness he had never seen her display before as he moved closer. "It's just that Quinn told me to watch over them."

Patting her shoulder as he walked past, Ashlee met her eyes before speaking. "We'll think of something." The entrance to the cave seemed more narrow in the light of day as he stepped through to find Lara scanning the forest surrounding their shelter. "You alright?"

His words made the woman turn, nodding a few times before actually answering. "The cuts aren't too deep, and my head is starting to feel better. Despite being smashed into a wall."

"Well, that's good." He chuckled as he continued. "But I mean with everything that has happened?" She looked over at him again, one eyebrow rising over the other as she did. "I know what went down with the Endurance and all, and then this happens." The woman opened her mouth in an attempt to interrupt him, but he didn't wait for her to try. "I'm sorry. I'm just sorry I dragged you into all of this."

"It's not on you, Graves. I made the choice to come." The conviction in her voice forced him to nod as Alison joined them, and Lara changed the subject without missing a beat, pointing to the sky above the trees. "Flare."

Following the direction her finger was pointed in, Ashlee saw the flashing light slowly descend toward the earth. "That'll be our people. Let's get there before Corin's men find them."

* * *

It was sometime later when another flare was shot above the canopy of the forest, flickering even in the sunlight and drawing Lara's eyes upward again. "There's another. Almost an exact hour from the first." Ashlee's voice drew her gaze, finding him studying the watch on his wrist before his hazel eyes flashed back to the light. She gave a nod as she turned to push through the brush in front of her, the untamed wilderness of the forest beginning to put her on edge. There were no trails, like there had been on Yamatai. No wild animals or other survivors to carve paths through the dense region, indicating that the island they had wrecked upon was truly untouched by outside influence for a long time.

Voices came through the air as she advanced, pausing halfway between two trees with her foot above the ground as she heard them. Glancing to see that her companions stopped as well, she gave a nod. _These are real, then. _Moving quickly through the obstacle, Lara came upon a rocky bluff that overlooked a clearing a few feet below, and saw the origin of the sounds. Five of the men who had landed after them on the island were standing below, talking amongst themselves as they watched the flare slowly fall. "The survivors must not know we've landed."

"At least a few of them know, Stevens even paid the price for that one."

The first soldier looked over at the one who had spoken second. "What?"

"You didn't hear? Stevens came back and told Corin that they had found Graves and let him get away. Corin listened to the whole story, then stands up, pulls out his pistol and shoots Stevens in the head. Didn't say anything, didn't blink, just shot him."

Glancing back towards the flare, the first whistled. "Damn, is really that scared of this guy?"

Lara found her eyes moving to Ashlee as he slid down to his belly beside her. "Stay here, Ali and I will handle them."

"No." Her refusal brought his gaze, his mouth opening to respond before she cut him off. "I'm not a child, Graves." She didn't wait for a rebuttal as she slid off the edge of the bluff, pulling the climbing axe from her belt as she landed. Tossing a glance across the clearing, she saw Alison stalking up behind a man on the other side as Lara approached her own target.

Alison made the first move, pouncing from the bushes and driving her blade down into her victim's neck with such precision that the scream from the man came out only in a ragged squeal, drawing the eyes of the rest of the soldiers. Lara didn't wait, raising her weapon and rushing forward to bring it down in a vicious arc into the back of the man in front of her. The bladed tip embedded itself between the flesh and cleaved right through the spine of her target, leaving her free to let him drop and move to pull her pistol from it's holster.

Graves appeared beside her, his own gun raised as he fired at the two men who had been talking and were the furthest from them at the moment. Flicking the trigger mod on the weapon in her hands, Lara aimed at the last soldier to her left, who was just starting to raise his weapon towards Ali when she pulled the trigger. Three shots fired from the gun, each slamming into the man in her sights and dropping him in a moment. It was over as soon as it had begun, with Ashlee stepping past her to the men he had killed, checking to make sure they were down.

She slid the gun back into her holster before bending to rip the axe from the body she was standing over, wiping the edge on her pant leg to clean it of blood. Looking up, she saw Ashlee pull a rifle from one of the bodies, looking it over with an appreciative gaze. "Know how to use one of those things?"

Laughing, the man pulled back the slide to check the chamber before letting it slam forward, nodding with an excited grin on his face as he looked over. "Oh yeah." Alison stepped into the clearing, holding one as well as she bent to tear a magazine from the weapon of one of the soldiers, stuffing it into her back pocket.

Lara shrugged before taking the rifle from the man below her, throwing a strap over her shoulder as she saw the other woman rotate her injured arm with a grimace. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just stiff." Looking in the direction they had seen the flare, Alison began walking towards the treeline. "We're close, let's keep going."

* * *

Ashlee pushed his way out of the bush that was attempting to trip him up, stepping out onto the sand of a different beach then the one they had arrived on. They had been walking another half hour since killing the mercenaries, finding their path blocked by cliffs until they had found the trail through them. The rock walls seemed to fall away as he continued on, eventually revealing two men in Galeforth Security uniforms aiming their weapons at him, bringing his hands up. "Easy fellas, we're friendlies." They seemed to recognize him, nodding and pointing towards the beach without a single word.

Tossing a glance back to make sure Alison and Lara were still following, he moved out in the direction that had been pointed out for them. Directly ahead was a pile of supplies that had been on the Relentless Gale, most of it looking intact as dozens of crew members milled about around it. "Graves!" The familiar voice made him raise a hand to block out the sun as he looked to see Fang running towards them, the large shadow behind her telling him who was with her as well.

The woman crashed into Ali and Lara, taking them both into a tight embrace as Ashlee chuckled, moving to grasp Tiane's hand. "Glad you made it."

"Me too, big guy. Did Quinn make it?" His friend nodded and pointed towards the center of the small encampment. Ashlee looked past him before returning his gaze to the three women, the relief at finding his friends alive fading away as he remembered where they were. "Fang, get Lara and Ali some actual food, alright?"

Without waiting for confirmation, he moved off to find his employer, with Tiane right on his heels. "How many have you guys found so far?"

"Just you three. Everyone here landed in the lifeboats with us. There are fifty or so." _Fifty. _The loss of life was a staggering amount from what he had glimpsed in the cove of the other beach, but he hadn't expected it would be this bad. It wasn't long until he spotted Galeforth, the man shouting orders to the crew that remained as supplies were being sorted through on the sand.

As they neared, the older man noticed him and laughed, moving over to greet him with a handshake. "Graves, glad you made it!"

Not in the mood for pleasantries, Ashlee shook his head. "Quinn, we've got a problem. Olivia and Aiden were captured by mercenaries that landed not long after we did. There are at least a hundred of them."

It was strange to see how the man went from joyful and greeting a friend to businesslike when he was informed of his children being in danger, giving only a nod. "We need to go and get them back, then."

"It isn't that easy." The dark eyes narrowed and awaited an explanation. "These men are led by Jacob Corin."

"Isn't he dead?" Tiane's voice brought a noise of annoyance from him as he looked over.

"Obviously not, and that is not the point. Quinn, we need to move this camp immediately. If I saw the flare, then so did Corin's men. We even killed a few on our way here."

Galeforth nodded, looking down the length of the beach. "There's a trail leading out the other side of this cove."

"Take it, and I'll catch up." His employer looked back in his direction, an eyebrow raised as he silently posed his question. "I'll take my team and get your children back."

"Thank you, Graves." Quinn turned away and began shouting to the crew to pack up and move towards the other side of the beach as Ashlee moved to find the rest of his companions.

Tiane didn't seem put off by the way he had responded to the earlier question, keeping the same level of calm he had seen the man display in almost every situation. "How do you plan to get them back from Corin?"

"I don't know, but we have to try." It didn't take long to locate the others of his group, finding Fang sitting by the other two women. Ali had taken off her jacket, exposing the wounded arm so her friend could examine it. Lara stood nearby, her eyes finding him long before he ever got close. "We need to get moving. We're going after Corin and getting Quinn's kids back."

Fang didn't offer any questions as she stood and moved past him with Lara, telling him that they had already briefed her on what had happened. Alison turned and placed her good hand on the ground to push herself up as he watched. "Ali, you don't need to come."

Scoffing, the woman pushed him towards the cliffs. "Like I said, it was my job to watch them. I'm coming." A glance at Tiane bought him only a shrug as he nodded, adjusting the rifle across his back before matching the quick stride of the woman trying to push him along.

* * *

The sun was already beginning to dip towards the horizon when Lara started recognizing the cliffs that blocked the way to the beach she had washed up on. Pausing to get her bearings again, she began making mental notes of the island's layout. By her reckoning, she had landed on the Western beach of the island, while most of the crew had managed to make it to the Eastern side. If the Eastern beach ran the length of the island, then she figured she had seen at least half of the entire isle already, leaving it much smaller than Yamatai.

Drawn from her thoughts by Fang walking in front of her and stopping, the Asian woman was looking through the trees and thumbing the hammer on her pistol with an air of nervousness. She found her eyes drawn to the messenger bag held at the woman's side, prompting her question. "What do you have in there?"

Fang glanced her way. "Huh?" Following her gaze for a moment before her cheeks colored in embarrassment, the woman laughed softly. "Oh, it's my laptop." Lara chuckled, about to look away before the other woman continued. "I know it's stupid, but it's a comfort to know it's there. Ashlee has his pistols, Alison has her knives, Tiane has a machete. And I've.. Got a laptop."

Smiling, she nodded as the woman looked away, clearing thinking of herself as childish. _We all have our weapons._ "I understand."

"Well, that's fucked up." Ashlee's voice brought her gaze to where he stood, looking off of a small ledge with his hands on his hips. Walking over, it didn't take her long to notice what it was he had commented on, seeing the bodies that littered the clearing below them. She counted quickly, arriving at a count somewhere in the lower thirties, and all of them dressed in the uniforms of Corin's mercenaries. It compelled them all forward, down into the small valley.

Most were riddled with bullets, the blood spray telling Lara that they had fallen before being shot numerous times. Others still had knives clutched in their hands, entangled with another body and covered in stab wounds. Alison bent to run a hand over the blood of a dead woman before wiping her hands on her pants. "Isn't that old. So what the hell, did they kill each other?"

"That can't be it." Ashlee was next to her, looking down at two of the bodies. "Or it could. Looks like this guy stabbed his buddy a few times, who in turn shot him at point blank range. ..That's nice, I guess." Lara stepped past them, spotting one she had missed in the count, a dozen feet away from the clearing.

As she neared, she saw that it was a man who bore the uniform of a Galeforth security officer. "This one had his head bashed in." Making a face as she looked over what remained of the poor man's skull, she turned back to look at the others. "What happened?"

"It could have been a coup, or it could be a payment thing." Ashlee met her eyes, shrugging as he turned away to scan the rest of them. "Mercenaries aren't exactly the most loyal bunch."

The sounds of the others talking over what could have transpired seemed to fade away from her hearing as she felt her head begin to pound with an ache again, just behind her forehead. _I know I usually go for the weird stuff.. But, Lara, this is off the charts._

"I know, Alex." She spoke quietly, under her breath, answering the voice she was hearing. Her eyes traveled along the ground back to the man who had been smashed into a rock. _Think about it. It looks like this guy got away, look at his wrists, the ropes were cut. Then no other bodies are nearby, and he has his skull bashed in, maybe he did it to himself?_

"Lara, you okay?"

Turning as everything came back into focus, she saw Ashlee looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, just thinking."

The man shrugged, accepting her answer as he stepped past the dead security officer. "Well, so long as they are killing each other, it's fine with me."

* * *

Ashlee stepped as quietly as he could, thankful for the cover of darkness as he neared the edge of the camp they were approaching. Sliding against a boulder, he peeked over it to see the floodlights that scanned the makeshift camp that had sprung up just outside the beach he and Lara had landed on. Patrols moved around it's perimeter, groups of two that kept a near constant coverage of the camp's edge. "You know, I can't help but notice there is a severe lack of them killing each other." Alison was beside him, observing the same thing he was.

"I don't see any sign of Aiden or Olivia, either." Fang had her pistol in her hand, looking out from the side of the boulder they were all behind. One of the lights swept past their cover, causing all five of them to duck to avoid being seen.

"They got set up pretty fucking fast, didn't they?" Ashlee's words came out with a chuckle as he pressed his back against the rock, rubbing his forehead with a free hand. _You're a murderer, Lesley, not a hero. What are you doing? _Shaking his head against the voice he heard, he blinked and rose back up, looking at the camp that lay before them. "Alright, we move quickly and keep quiet. Anyone gets discovered, we retreat. We meet at the cave between here and Galeforth's camp."

His glance to his companions was met with four nods as he moved out from behind the rock they were using as cover, keeping low but moving fast to cover the ground until the first tent. A patrol had just passed, and he moved around the structure to get a clear line of sight on them. Two of the mercenaries were walking in front of him, and a quick glance to his left told him that Tiane was on the same page. Reaching his target with silent footfalls, Ashlee grabbed the man, wrapping an arm about his throat and turning to face him to the woman behind him. Lara wasted no time, slamming the climbing axe into their victim's chest, silencing him as she ripped it out.

Dropping the body, he looked over to see Tiane let go of his, the man's head flopping about with a broken neck. Automatic fire began to cover the area they were in as cries of alarm rose up all around them, the floodlights already turning toward them. "Fuck! Run!" He pushed Lara ahead first, following her back towards the treeline as shots rang out in the night behind them.

Sprinting into the trees, he kept himself moving and avoided running face first into one of the trunks. His efforts were well received until he found himself bowling over another person, rolling to his feet to find himself face to face with one of the mercenaries. Lara was on it in a moment, firing one round into the man's head before holstering her pistol and pulling him to his feet. It was another patrol had been running back to help the camp, as a dozen or so soldiers came running from out of the darkness.

Most of the enemy did not see them, running blindly past where they were. But, three of them did, raising their rifles. Ashlee was faster, drawing the pistol from his chest and firing shots off towards them, causing the two who were not killed to scatter. Running past them, he followed Lara through the forest, the young woman leading him away from the mercenaries, seeming to have a better grasp of the terrain than he could hope to. Breaking through a brush that had blinded him, he saw her already crouched against the base of a small cliff, her hands clasped together and ready to boost him. Without slowing, he planted his foot in her hands, the resulting boost propelling him upwards to grab onto the lip of the ledge. Scrambling over, he turned and caught her hand as she jumped, pulling her up onto the bluff as well.

She took off the moment her boots were on solid ground, and he was about to follow her when a voice reached him from below. "Graves!" Turning, he saw Fang running toward the cliff, firing off two shots behind her in an effort to stall her pursuers.

"Come on!" Sliding down to his stomach, he extended his arm and caught her as she jumped. Pulling her up, he slowly stood until she was on her feet on the ledge. As he moved to clap her shoulder, a shot louder than the sporadic rifle fire rang out, and his friend's chest seemed to explode in a shower of blood. Fang's body dropped to her knees before sliding off the edge of the cliff, and nothing registered for him but the shock. _Like I said, not a hero. _"No.. No!" Grabbing a hold of the rifle he had strapped across his chest, he rose it and began to empty the rounds into the direction the shot had come from, screaming in rage.

His weapon clicked empty within a few seconds, and his arm was yanked back, pulling him away from the edge of the bluff. Lara had a hold on him as another of the louder shots sounded out, shattering the bark of a tree near them. The woman pulling him was shouting, but it seemed as if the words were miles away. "Graves! Come on!"


	10. Chapter 8 - Miseries

**Author's Note: Seriously, if you haven't already, go read Graves. It provides a lot of backstory and, personally, I think it's a fun read. ..I might be a little biased because I wrote it, but hey, you're already reading this so you might as well know who these people are. Um, also, sorry about chapter 7. It's quality is just not up to snuff, and I'd like to apologize for that because I wrote it entirely while I was in that strange zone of still drunk/hungover. That's my bad, and I might go back to rewrite it, but I really just want to continue with this(And hopefully this one makes up for it). The ending is not far now for this, and I hope at least some of your questions are answered now. Thank you for reading, and I'd appreciate a review if you've gotten this far. But, if not, then simply enjoy the read! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 8

**-Miseries-**

_**Uncharted Island, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

The first rays of the dawn were just beginning to appear across the sky when Lara saw the entrance to the cave, set into the rock in a way that would have hidden it from the first look of any passerby. It had rained lightly during the night, a drizzle that had persisted for hours as she led the group back the way they had came, minus one of it's members. No words had been exchanged between them as they ran through the forest, drops of water falling from where they were perched on leaves to the ground below. But morning had come, leaving a sky filled only with white clouds and the promise of shelter ahead as she entered the cave, not slowing until she reached where they had rested the night before.

Stopping to place her hands upon her knees and attempt to find her breath again, Lara watched as Ali and Tiane followed through behind her, both of them collapsing near the entrance to sit against the wall. They looked worn down, from the loss of their friend and the run that had carried them away from the enemy encampment. Ashlee was the last one in, the fury in his features no less etched than it had been hours ago when she had pulled him from the brink of the ledge. Despite being as out of breath as the rest of them, he didn't stop, only turning on his heel to pace the small cavern they had entered. "Dammit!" The scream was filled with so much rage it drew all their gazes, pulling the rest of them from their own thoughts to focus on the man.

"Graves-" Ali's voice was quiet, and the look on her face turned quickly from sympathy to surprise as the man turned and yelled at her.

"No!" Throwing his arms out, he didn't seem to be directing his anger at the woman, but throwing it off to whatever he could in a desperate attempt to be rid of it. "I brought a hacker to an island in the middle of fucking nowhere! What the fuck was I thinking?!" Stepping back into the nearest wall, Ashlee slid down until he found a seated position, placing his elbows against his knees and sinking his head into his hands. When he finally spoke again, it was quiet, and carried the first signs of breaking. "Sorry, I just.."

Lara moved over to place her hand upon the grieving man's shoulder gently as he trailed off, and it brought his eyes to her. She held his gaze, feeling nothing but sympathy for him as he suffered through what she had. After a moment, his hazel eyes slid closed and he nodded, once again bracing his forehead against his hands. Looking to the others, she spoke up. "We need to get to Quinn's camp. Regroup, and figure out what to do next." She hated herself for saying it, for being the one who had to force emotion out of the equation, but the others did not share in her hate.

Alison glanced at her, only for a second, before the woman rose to her feet and turned to offer her hands to the large man still sitting. "C'mon, Tiane. On your feet." The islander did not refuse her gesture, taking the smaller hands in his own massive palms to be pulled up. His dark eyes found Lara's, and the nod he gave her wrenched another knot through her stomach. They left the same way they had come, back into the sunlight that was just now starting to shine through into the cave. Lara took three steps in their direction before stopping to look at the man still sitting.

"..Ashlee." He looked up, his face expressionless as he put his hands on the ground beneath him and pushed himself up to his feet. The steps he took were uncertain, a trait he had never before displayed to her.

Stopping near her, he did not meet her gaze as he spoke. "I'm getting you off this island, Lara. No matter what."

Shaking her head, she fought the urge to laugh at the notion he was worried about her in a time like this. "Why?" That single word caught his attention, and he looked at her. "Why is it so important that you save me?"

The green of his eyes clashed with the brown as the light caught them, and he seemed to be struggling with himself before his answer came. "I promised Sam."

* * *

Ashlee smiled as the small Asian girl watched Lara leave the room, the woman admiring the view of her friend's backside in a way that left little for him to wonder on her thoughts. He opened the door for Alison, who as carrying the briefcases that contained both the artifacts and the notes Lara had labored over for the last day or so. His friend paused only to grin over at the other woman. "See ya, Sam! It was nice meeting you."

"See you, Ali!" Sam turned and waved goodbye as Ali stepped through the portal, leaving him to close the door behind her with a chuckle. Staring at the doorknob in his hand, he searched for something to say to the woman he was tearing Lara away from, a sentiment that could make up for what he was doing. Nothing truly noble came to mind, and so he instead went with his gut.

"I'm am sorry for offering her the job, but I do think it'll be for the best." He met Sam's eyes, and saw the pain in them mixed with understanding as she shook her head, black hair falling over her face as she did.

"Just..keep an eye on her." He could actually see how it was tearing at the woman's heart to ask him this, the way she clutched at her chest. He could hear it in her voice, how close to breaking it truly was. Ashlee was pulling the woman she loved out of her life to do who knew what, and she was trying not to hate him for it. It spoke volumes of her character to him, and he found himself in thoughts he had frequently had since escaping prison. _I wish I had someone like Sam to come back to. _"Promise me she'll make it back, Ashlee." Leaning heavily on the doorway, he closed his eyes and bowed his head, hearing the request he had feared since the moment he had seen the way Lara looked at the girl.

* * *

The sun was almost directly above them by the time Ashlee spotted the new camp the crew had moved too, sitting on a bluff that overlooked much of the nearby terrain. They had taken the trail through the cliffs on the other side of the beach, pushing on through the treacherous paths of the island to reach the forest that now stood between them and the rest of the crew. It took several more hours to hike through the forest to reach the entrance to the camp. He tried his hardest to ignore the whispers of the crew as they strode past, the news of their failure already filtering through the ranks in a way that made his blood boil. _Not a hard thing to do to a murderer like you, Lesley._

Shaking his head as he pushed a crewman out of his path, he moved with purpose toward the canopy that sat on the edge of the cliff, and the man who stood beneath it. Quinn's dark eyes rose as they neared, widening before his expression settled into one that resembled a rock more than anything else as the man noticed the lack of one of their members. "I see. Did you find any sign of my children?"

"No." He saw the supply container that his employer was using as a makeshift table, and the logbook atop it that was being used to compile a list of what supplies they actually had. "Where do we stand now?"

Galeforth cleared his throat, pushing aside whatever emotions he was feeling and resuming his study of the book as if it were business as usual. "I activated the emergency beacon once we made landfall, so help should be on the way."

"It won't do much good with Corin parking his ass on the beach." Alison's voice drew both of their gazes as she commented on their situation.

"And I only have a fraction of my security personnel, so a head on confrontation is not preferable. Most of them are guarding the camp, as well. There is good news though." The older man straightened and looked over their ragtag group with an appraising gaze. "I sent ten men out to scout for a better place to set up our base camp, and they radioed back that they had found ruins of some sort just North of here. They said they were going to investigate, but at least we may have actually found what we set out to."

"How long ago was this?" Ashlee's question prompted Galeforth to look down at the watch on his wrist, the man narrowing in a way that seemed to grow his wrinkles.

"Several hours."

"Alright." Tossing a glance back at what remained of his group, he saw that all three of them were watching him. "If they aren't back by morning, I'll go check out the ruins myself."

"Maybe we should dial it back a bit?" Ali moved forward, raising a hand as if to touch his arm.

He stepped away from her, hardening himself against the grief that once again attempted to assault his mind. "No. There will by time to mourn later. Right now, we need to focus on getting everyone off this island in one piece." Rubbing his eyes against the fatigue that gripped him, he looked back to Quinn. "Are there any tents available?"

"Yes, I had your belongings sent to a few tents on the far side of the camp." Ashlee looked back and waved off the rest of his group, watching them go before he stepped through the canopy to the edge of the bluff, looking out over the forest below. "What went wrong?"

"There was no way to get into the camp without being seen, and we were lucky to get away as it is." The sun was already starting to descend towards the horizon as he watched, glaring at the burning orb as if his anger could destroy it. Turning back, he moved to follow the others, not looking his employer in the eye as he strode past. "Excuse me, Quinn. I need to get some rest."

* * *

The tablet was draped over her lap, being maddeningly unhelpful as she stared at it. None of the books offered any explanation to the symbols carved into the bottom of the stone, and it didn't reveal any glow as it had just before they had found this island. Scoffing at her hopes to see it happen again, Lara shook her head. "You're going crazy, Croft."

The flap of her tent was thrown open as Ashlee poked his head in, his eyes finding her in an instant before focusing on the tablet. "Find anything new about it?"

Shaking her head, she pushed the stone off of her lap and sighed. "There seems to be almost no connection between it and the island, but maybe those ruins will tell me something."

"You'll figure it out." The man's words brought her gaze back to him, raising an eyebrow. "Don't lose faith in that."

"And how could you possibly know that?"

"You're a Croft, it's what you do." It was the closest the man had come to a smile in the hours since Fang had been killed, just a small twitch at the corner of his lips that told her of his appreciation for her earlier efforts. "You should get some sleep. 'Night, Lara."

Feeling her lips stretch upwards, she gave a slight nod of her head. "Goodnight, Graves."

* * *

She was awakened the next morning by the sound of someone stepping into her tent, bringing her back to the world of awareness as every instinct within her body began to tingle. The headache that had granted her mercy the day before had returned with a vengeance as she rose to greet the visitor. Opening her eyes, she blinked away the blur before focusing on what she was seeing, the strange garb that the man wore. A dark hooded vest left his chest exposed, displayed a necklace filled with various pieces of metal with writing too intricate for her to identify in her current state. A grayed shawl was draped over his neck, hanging loosely about his torso as he regarded her with a sneer.

The white paint present on his arms slammed the realization home to her as she scrambled out of her sleeping bag, grabbing at the holster beside her to pull the pistol from it, aiming it at him as fear began to spread out from her chest. He raised a gun in her direction as well, the design of it so familiar that it brought a pang of longing and hatred to her chest as she recognized it as the twin of the one she was holding. "Don't think you are special, girl. Any animal will fight when it's very survival is at stake. And you are no better than an animal, because the fight for survival broke you."

Lara's hands shook in response to the words, to the claims that she was broken, as she screamed at him. "You're dead, I killed you!"

He let loose a laugh that chilled her entire body, his chest shaking from the effort before affixing her with his mocking gaze again. "Do you really think you can save Sam from the coming storm? From the fate that has already been decided?"

"I already saved her! I killed you, and carried her from that island!" Her words were screamed out as she moved her finger to the trigger, struggling internally as she felt the pieces she had slowly tried to place back together in the last year shatter and fall back to the ground. The tent's flap was thrown open, revealing Ashlee as he stepped in, looking at Mathias before his eyes found her, widening in surprise.

The man raised his hands and backed up, her confusion only growing as he spoke. "Whoa! ..What's going on in here?"

In that moment, everything changed. The world seemed to melt away to show her a different scene than before, to show her that she was aiming the pistol at Alison, who had her hands up and was screaming at her. "Lara, put the gun down!"

"But, you were.." She slowly lowered the weapon, her entire body trembling as she tried to explain what was happening. She found herself lacking a clear answer, unsure of what had just transpired. "He was saying that Sam.." Ashlee was nodding and making noises of agreement as he approached, and the man only gave a breath of relief as he snatched the gun from her hands, causing her to jump.

Checking to see if there was a round chambered in the pistol, Ashlee sighed as he looked at her. Even in her current state, she hated the look that he gave her, that pitying expression. "Lara.. Why did you come along if it was this bad?"

"It wasnt! I.. This hasn't happened before!"

The man didn't acknowledge her words right away, glancing back at the other woman. "Ali, you alright?" With her green eyes filled with concern, the woman nodded.

"I started hearing voices the first night on the island.. People who are dead." Her admission brought Ashlee's attention back to her, and prompted the woman she had been about to shoot to speak up.

"You haven't heard voices before?"

The surprise evident in the others voice would have made her laugh in any normal circumstance, but she could not manage to find the humor in the current situation. "No, I had nightmares. But nothing like this.. I'm sorry, I-"

"I've been hearing voices too." Ashlee's words stole any thought of what she was going to say next from her mind as she looked at him. "My father's."

"Great." Ali let out a humorless laugh, throwing up her hands. "Everyone's going crazy then."

Lara's mind raced with the new information, stretching past a thousand different possibilities before settling onto the only likely one as the man in front of her slid the weapon he had taken from her back into it's holster. "It's the island. There's something here messing with people. Graves and I are hearing voices, Corin's men killing each other. It's all connected."

Alison scoffed, shaking her head. "Some 'thing'? Well, I have yet to hear any voices, so I'm just going to assume you guys are the crazy ones before we leap to the 'Insane Island Theory'." Opening her mind to deliver a quick retort to the woman's words, Lara wasn't interrupted by any sound she had heard before. The closest she could compare it to was a thunderclap as the very air seemed to shatter above them. It was deafening, and she could feel it reverberate throughout her entire body. Clutching at her ears in pain against the ringing that sprung up in the aftermath of the explosion, she could see the tent's two other occupants doing the same.

Over the course of the next minute, hearing slowly began to return to her, and she became aware of the gunfire just outside her tent. It sounded as if the entire encampment had become embroiled in fierce combat, with shots ringing out all over, accompanied by the screams of the dying. Ashlee was the first to react, running to exit the enclosure, and Lara was right on his heels, breaking out into the morning air to a grisly sight. The crew, everywhere she looked, was butchering each other in a vicious frenzy that seemed inhuman from the moment she set her eyes upon it.

Some were desperately trying to fend off the assaults, only to fall beneath merciless blows or be cowed by a rifle emptied into their bodies. One of the security personnel started firing his weapon in their direction, but Alison was quick enough that they avoided injury, ripping the pistol she had strapped to her thigh out of it's holster and killing the man with a single shot. It seemed to die down as quickly as it had started as those that had gone berserk turned on each other, tearing one another apart as they stood helpless to stop them. One man, a deckhand by the look of his clothes, charged them, grabbing at Ashlee from behind.

The thief might have lacked the same fury as his attacker, but he was quick and precise in his moments, spinning and throwing the man's hands wide away from him before kicking him back. "Get a grip!" A crazed growl was the only response he received as the crewman picked himself up off the ground and started to charge again. Lara did not wait for him to come to his senses, having seen what the others had done to each other. She pulled the pistol from her thigh, chambered a round by slamming the slide back, and took aim. It took three shots to the chest to bring the man down, dropping him just near her friend's feet. When Ashlee looked back at her with a questioning expression, she shook her head, knowing that there was no saving a man who was that far gone.

He didn't seem to want to argue the point, instead cupping his hands together and bringing them to his mouth. "Tiane!"

"Graves!" The large man's voice guided them towards the canopy that stood near the edge of the bluff, where the islander was crouched above another man. It wasn't until Lara was near that she could see past the man's massive frame to identify the one who was on the ground. It was Quinn Galeforth, his chest a mess of holes that were leaking blood faster than she had thought was possible.

She didn't know if it was the sight of an old friend suffering, or the pathetic sputtering noise that the dying man was making, but Ashlee pushed her aside, reaching up to tug the gun from it's place on his chest. He raised it slowly, and from where she stood, she could see that both of the men were staring at one another. There were no words for him to say as he pulled the trigger, ending the agony for the man on the ground, and it was silent until the woman behind her began yelling.

"What the fuck is happening?!"

Alison's panicked yells tore all but Tiane's attention away from Galeforth's body, and Lara was the one who answered the question. "It's the island." Looking between the various looks she received for her statement, she continued. "Think about it. Graves and I start hearing voices, and what just happened here. Something on this island is trying to kill us."

"She is right. There is a will here that broke these men." Tiane was the one who spoke in her support, turning only to gesture to the ruins of the encampment. "Quinn was hit before I could lift a finger."

Ashlee laid a hand upon his big friend's shoulder, his hazel eyes searching the ground before nodding. "Whatever is happening, we need to keep a clear head. We need to stick together and keep each other on point.. The ruins North of here might have some answers."

"No." Alison's refusal once again drew the gaze of the rest of them, as she shook her head. "I don't believe it."

"Ali, there is something going on that isn't normal."

"Get back to reality, Graves. Because you're getting your information from a girl who almost just shot because she thought I was a man she killed, not even five minutes ago." The snarl and the dig at her caused Lara to speak up.

"You have to admit something-"

"I don't have to admit shit. You're the one who got us into this mess in the first place, and now Fang and Quinn are dead. His children are either dead or captured." It looked as if the woman was about to give up when Ashlee opened his mouth, returning the fury to Alison's eyes. "You can go exploring ruins or whatever the fuck you want to do, but I'm going to save Olivia and Aiden. It was the last thing he asked of me, and I'll be damned if the entire Galeforth family dies here because of me."

The woman was gone then, stepping over the bodies that were still warm beneath her as she picked her way through the camp, her mind made and her course set. Ashlee was the only other one who moved, kicking over the body of a security officer to take the rifle off of the corpse, pausing to check it's magazine. "I'm going after her."

"Then so are we." Lara's words brought his eyes up, and the man shook his head.

"No, Ali was right about one thing: We need to get to those ruins and figure out what the hell is going on here." Loading the magazine back into his new weapon, the thief met her eyes, looking as if he wanted to say something more to her. "Tiane, make sure Lara gets there." With that, he followed after his friend, leaving her alone with the islander who was staring at the body of his former employer.

* * *

The densely forested region was easily negotiated with Tiane's machete leading their way. He had said no words since they had left the carnage of the camp behind, the man's already quiet demeanor becoming a stoic silence that set Lara on edge. Looking up, she saw that the sun was directly overhead, mercilessly heating the world below without a care to their discomfort, causing sweat to stick her clothing to her in all the worst places. The day before had been cool, and when they had begun their exodus from the ruined encampment, she had grabbed the leather jacket from her duffel when they had stopped by her tent to retrieve the tablet and her notes on translation the Atlantian language.

Now, she was regretting it as the jacket only provided to bake what it covered, making her savor the few moments she spent under the shade of the forest's canopy. Her thoughts consumed common sense, and she was left unaware of the danger they had wandered into until an explosion shook the ground. It left her blind as well, seeing only a bright white light in place of the world she had been studying before as she stumbled back. A rough hand pushed her to the ground as she struggled to get away, her vision fading into a blurry representation of what she was seeing.

It was one of Corin's men, the dark green camouflage uniform easily identifiable even in her disorientation. The rifle aimed at her was ready to fire, and she tried her best to prepare for death before the blade of a machete burst from the man's chest, showering her in blood. It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, and the body fell away to reveal Tiane with a fierce growl evident in his features as he spun to cleave another of the soldiers almost in half with his massive weapon. Turning back to her, he reached out a hand to pull her up before a shot rang out, his dark eyes going wide as he stumbled into her, nearly taking them both down.

The islander turned to face their newest attacker, affording Lara a view of the bleeding hole that was now present on the man's back as another crack shattered the quiet of the island. Tiane was not dissuaded from his goal as he was shot again, growling out with a fury that she had never expected the usually calm man to hold. Still disoriented and half blind, she looked past her protector to see the last of the soldiers who had ambushed them firing a pistol in their direction, the man's eyes wide with fear as his target did not slow his advance as a fourth and fifth shot found their mark.

Backing the man up into a tree, the gun clicked empty as Tiane raised his machete in a reverse grip with both hands, plunging it down into the mercenary's chest with a scream of fury that lingered upon the air before dying away. Falling to his knees, the massive man who had been assigned to protect her fell sideways, as still as his victim, who sat impaled to the tree behind him. Finally managing to pull the pistol from her thigh, she ran over, falling twice before she reached her companion.

In spite of the anger that had been present in his final moments, Tiane held an expression of peace upon his features, leaving her alone against enemies that could be closing in. Falling past the man's body, she raised her pistol and scanned the surrounding forest for any sign of the mercenaries from her back, finally finding herself able to focus on a single object as her head tried to break itself open. She pushed everything down. The fear from her vision of Mathias, the grief over the loss of Fang, and now Tiane, and the desire to fall into memories of other times when she was left alone against overwhelming odds.

Scrambling to her feet and wrapping a hand around the handle of the briefcase, she pressed on through the woods, heading in the direction she had been before the ambush. It was not long until she could see the crumbling pillars of stone that had been overgrown with moss, peeking out from above the trees in a way that drew her gaze upwards. Sliding her weapon back into it's home on her thigh, she pulled the axe from her belt and moved towards the cliff that the ruins sat atop. Jumping before slamming the edge of the axe into the rock face, she found a good hold for her feet and free hand before ripping it out and stabbing it back into the stone, pulling herself up to a new height. She repeated the motion until it brought her to the edge of the cliff, where she could hook it back to her belt and pull herself over onto flat ground.

The sight she was treated to was one that ignited her sense of wonder, as she saw the lines of pillars that formed an ancient courtyard. Both sides of the stone paths flanked a statue that stood in the middle of the ensemble, looking as if it was carved yesterday. It depicted a young woman sitting upon a throne, a lazy hand raised to rest her head against while the other held an open book in her lap. The inscription upon the base of the monument drew her forward until she tripped over something beneath her. Glancing down as she pushed herself back up, she saw the bodies of the men Galeforth had sent to investigate these ruins, their deaths as visceral as she had seen back in the camp. Several were on each other, bladed weapons used in close quarters to paint a stylized picture of red on the environment around them.

Lara bit her bottom lip against the fear of being alone, choosing instead to press forward, to continue her investigation and finish the mission Ashlee had given her. Stepping carefully past the rest of the corpses, she found herself before the statue before long, the symbols carved into their base easily read in a way they hadn't been before. _'Atlantia, Goddess of Memories.' _Running a hand over the etched carvings, she looked up into the face of the young girl. "So you were the namesake of the city, their patron goddess."

A flash of movement drew her gaze past the statue, and her eyes widened at the man who stood under an archway that led into the nearby mountain. The ruffled brown shirt pulled over a deep red one, the gray scarf that was wrapped about his neck. It was a flood of recognition to see the familiar straps over his shoulders, a knife set in it's sheath pointing upwards on his left shoulder. "..Roth." He disappeared as soon as she spoke, stepping into the archway and descending the steps into the cave.

Moving as quickly as she could, Lara followed, catching only glimpses of her old mentor as she turned corners and ran down steps. She lost him, eventually, coming into a small domed cavern with a raised platform in the middle of it. "You can do it, girl." The man's voice turned her around, finding him standing in the tunnel she had just walked through, the sound of his words as clear as they had been back on Yamatai, when he had been right by her. "You can set them free."

Roth nodded in the direction of the platform, which stood at the same height as her waist, only a foot or so wide. Glancing between him and the object he had nodded to, Lara moved towards the platform, setting the briefcase against it as she saw the metalwork that had been inlaid into the stone beneath it. It looked like a silver timepiece, with hands that were whirring about in a circle, but there was no symbols to depict what the hands were pointing to. In the middle sat a bronze disc small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, the intricate designs of it outmatching even the ones that surrounded it.

Bending to examine it closer, she could make out the inscription written along the edge of the disc, the meaning of the Atlantian symbols coming to her as easy as they had on the surface. "'The giver of life will reveal the legacy.'? What does that mean?"

"Look closer, girl. You know what you need to do." She looked back at Roth, who gave a small smile and nodded once again, returning her attention to the disc. She studied it before she noticed what it was, seeing the stains evident upon the altar after a few minutes, making a noise as she realized what it was she needed to do.

Pulling up the edge of her climbing axe, she wrapped her fingers around it, pulling quickly against the sharp edge and gripping it as tightly as she could, crying out as it scraped away the skin from her palm with it's jagged design. Dropping the tool to reveal the blood that was quickly filling her palm, she closed her hand and gripped it over the disc, the sanguine liquid dripping down onto the disc's metallic surface.

At first, nothing came of it, only a frustrating lack of any reaction that made her want to turn on her heel and scream at the apparition of Roth that had suggested this course of action to her. Before she could even begin to turn away, the designs of the disc began to glow, a fierce blue color that leaked onto the rest of the metalwork, spreading until it covered the entire surface of the altar. Without warning, she was thrown into memories that were not her own.

* * *

It was like being thrown down a hole that never ended, and it stretched on for an eternity as images flashed by that made no sense, like a puzzle without all it's pieces. Finally, it settled into one single image, showing her a room filled with scrolls. She knew what was contained within those scrolls, even though she had never set foot in this room, and had never opened even one of them, she knew. It was the history, the philosophy, the study of medicine and mechanics. It was a record of every man, woman and child that she had journeyed to protect the legacy of. It was the treasure of Atlantis.

And looking over the treasure that she and her men had journeyed halfway around the world to save, she felt a mixture of pride and regret. For all that she had accomplished, it was so much less than she had hoped. Lara struggled to separate herself from the personality she was thrust into, but found it difficult, seeing from the eyes the disc wished her to. She turned away from the scrolls, ascending a flight of stairs before coming into the room she had just been in. Turning as the stone door slid close behind her, she laid a hand upon the stone, letting out a soft sigh. "Commander, the Athenian fleet is nearly upon the shore!"

It was not her language, nor any language she had ever heard, and yet she understood it perfectly as she turned to address the man who had run into the room. He was dressed in cuirass made from a strange silver metal, an element that she did not fully understand as she searched for the answer in the mind she now inhabited. "I have sealed the temple." Her voice was distinctly feminine, yet carried a strength behind it that sounded as if it could command the respect of entire armies. It was the voice of a general, of a queen. "Now only the key shall open the way. What of the tablet?"

"Maccius was not spotted. It is away, toward the mainland."

She felt the flood of relief tear through her, as their last hope clicked into place. They had played the best hand they could with what the Gods had dealt them, and though their city would fall, their legacy would remain. Athens would not stamp out their memories. "You have done well. If any of our people survive the fire that is to come, they will walk the path. And I will be here to guide them."

She stepped toward the device that sat in the middle of the room, the timepiece design. The key. "If you are certain?" The soldier who had delivered the news of the encroaching enemy fleet looked as if he were afraid of losing her.

She smiled. Loyalty was something that was expected, friendship was something that was earned. "Our lives find worth in service to Atlantis, and her legacy. If Alexandria falls, this will be the only remains of what our people have worked towards." Pulling the sword from her belt, she met the gaze of her soldier with a nod. "I shall meet you in Elysium, brother, Goddess willing." Turning the blade before she could reconsider her course, she plunged it into her heart, a strangled gasp escaping as she fell forward.

Her lifeblood poured out onto the altar that held the key, the last ingredient to the plan the Goddess had given them. The pain was more than she had ever imagined it would be, but pain was a fleeting agent that faded as she felt life slip away. It was not the oblivion that others had said it would be that greeted her, but an awareness, the sensation of opening her eyes after a night's rest. She became aware of the entire island. Aurelion, it was called. More importantly, she felt the churning of the waves along it's shores, and the wooden constructs that were intruding upon the sanctuary she had dedicated her life to.

It was a whim, a thought of fury that manifested like a flame. The waves rose up with her anger, crashing upon the Athenians with a vengeance she had never witnessed in life. This was the power that the Goddess had promised would be bestowed, and the victory that she had said would be achieved. She drowned the men who had come to take her people's legacy, to the last, savoring the struggle they put up before crashing them into the rocks below. It was over in an instant, and then she waited for the end.

It did not come.

She witnessed her body being carried to the pyre, witnessed her comrades set the blaze that would have carried her soul to the underworld, to peace after a lifetime of war. She saw her friends, the few soldiers who had survived the journey from Atlantis and across the world to this forsaken place. She saw them begin to waste away, one by one falling to hunger and passing.

She raised the shield, the force that would hide her people's legacy from all of the world, save the one who returned the tablet. She crushed ships that approached over the centuries, ranging from the wooden constructs of her own age, and the metal ones that followed in the years after. None bore the tablet she had carved and sent away. Time barely edged forward, each passing second a reminder of the promise the Goddess had failed to deliver on. She was alone, trapped within her duty, and each soul she snuffed out began to grant her pleasure.

At times, she remembered the great battles of her past, longing for the time she could wield a sword. In others, she screamed and wracked the waters of the coastline in an effort to effect the world that lay outside, willing her fury be carried to Athens and destroy what could remain of those who had butchered her homeland.

Then, it came, one ship that approached like all the others had. She reached out with her will, not considering her actions for a moment as the glee to take life again descended upon her. The first wave heaving the ship from the sea, throwing it upward before crashing back down. She almost missed the presence, the familiarity that she felt beneath her fury. It melted the centuries away, and she rejoiced for the first time since she had bled over the key. She allowed passage, lowering the shield and beckoning those who came closer. The ship exploded with a force she had never witnessed before, beginning to sink to the cold water below, and the madness and fury returned in a magnitude greater than it had ever before.

The thought that someone would stop her people, after all this time, brought her to silently cursing the Goddess for the duty that had been charged to her. For the promise that had not be fulfilled. Time slipped by as the survivors and others began to walk among her island, and she reached out to break them. They would suffer for the pain she now felt, they would suffer for being the instruments of her failure.

Instead, she found that one carried knowledge of her people, of her language. It was this one who had guided the rest to the island, this one she attempted to reach. Each of her attempts were met with silence, as the female's mind resisted her approach. In fury, she lashed out a group of newcomers in the forest, and watched with glee as they tore each other apart in a savage display. One of them was unaffected, running from them until she focused upon him, driving him to bash his own skull open upon the ground until his body fell still. She reached out again, and again, but still no answer came as her fury grew. She lashed out again, causing the people surrounding the one to butcher each other in a haze of anger. She saw the one approach the chamber, now alone, and attempted to show her the path. It was the first time it worked, and the one followed her instructions to some degree. Finally, the female cut open her hand to bleed upon the key.

* * *

Lara was thrown back from the altar, screaming as she clutched her head in an attempt to free her mind from the presence that had dominated it. She had seen the massacre where Corin's men had killed each other, and the way that the soul trapped within the disc had tormented her and Ashlee with visions of their past. It was an immensely powerful being that had orchestrated almost every clash of conflict she had come across since landing on the island. The guards of Corin's camp becoming alerted to their presence, the ambush that had cost Tiane his life, and the frenzy that had gripped what remained of the Relentless Gale's crew at the encampment.

The room she saw before her, she saw from two perspectives. One was from her eyes, through tears as she prayed for death, for a release from the pain that was wracking her body. The other was from everything, from the very stone itself. She could see everything of the island, she could see the insects that dug into it, and the people that walked it. She saw herself, clutching at her own head. It began to fade almost immediately after she slammed herself against the wall of the room, sliding down and crying out again as a torrent of emotions that were not her own rushed through her, threatening to consume her. She was left with one final thought, a scream that seemed to echo within her skull, growing in volume until it would not be ignored.

"_Release me!"_


	11. Chapter 9 - Debts Come Due

**Author's Note: Ashlee and Lara ending up together? Interesting concept that I went over a lot in outlining this story. I was kind of sure I wanted to do Sam/Lara though, sorry clairedelunexx, please don't hate me? Anywho, like what you read? Favorite it. Hated it or really loved it? Leave a review. Most of all: Enjoy the read, because the end is not far now. -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 9

**-Debts Come Due-**

_**Aurelion, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

Pain.

It was the feeling that consumed Lara's body and mind after she was thrown out of the memories present in the disc. It frayed the ends of every nerve and forced her into a fetal position against the wall of the room she had followed her mentor too, where her hands clutched at the side of her head against the agony, oblivious to the blood still seeping from the gash in her palm. It faded slowly, granting mercy piece by piece as the fire left her limbs and the thoughts began to clear away.

She became aware of the last images she had seen before being cast out, the instructions for destroying the disc, and freeing the presence that had hounded her since she washed up on this island. Knees shook as she pushed herself to her feet, stumbling forward and falling against the altar that sat in the middle of the room. It seemed as if the entire world was rumbling beneath her as she felt the fury within the small bronze object before her, palpable now with it's release so close. Raising up the climbing axe she had used to slice open her own hand, she placed it's edge under the disc and threw her weight against it, dislodging the piece from the rest of the ensemble.

Gripping it with her uninjured hand, she stood and moved towards the wall, growling against the protests of her battered body. There, hidden against the rest of the room, was a small inlet that would allow something the size of the object she was holding to fit. Lara wasted no time in pressing the disc into it's final resting place, eager to be rid of the soul that had caused so much pain for the crew she had joined to come here. Blue light began to write it's way across the face of the disc, just as it had before. This time though, it spread onto the door and began to trace it's way across the face of the hidden entrance, highlighting the edges before coalescing into a line that ran down the middle of the door.

The light faded as the door slid open, breaking the disc in two as it did. There was no final, echoing scream to single the end of the presence within, but Lara did feel as if a pressure was released from her chest, allowing her to breath normally for the first time since the ship passed into the island's domain. She fell back against the altar and slid down to a sitting position, staring down the stairs that led into the vault holding the treasure that had been their goal from the beginning. She could feel the ache behind her eyes left from the tears the pain had caused, feel the lines they had cut through the blood and grim on her cheeks as she sat there, feeling numb to the world surrounding her.

Everything ached to some degree, even the scarred hole that was left from the last island she had been stranded on. All her senses were screaming at her to quit, to give up and leave the rest to someone else, but a memory blocked out all of it, coming to forefront of her mind. She saw the island for a few moments, she was sure of it, and she remembered seeing Ashlee and Alison, separated and heading towards the camp they had found near the beach. She remembered the dozens of men that occupied that camp, and knew what she had to do. Pushing herself past the limits her body attempted to set before her, Lara rose to her feet, taking in a deep breath as she made her way to the stairs that ascended back to the surface.

* * *

Olivia bit down on the gag in frustration for the thousandth time in the last hour, trying to pull her hand free of the frayed ropes that bound them. It had only succeeded in scraping the skin from around her wrists, leaving them raw as she growled against the pain. Her noises drew a glance from the man sitting near where she was, his rifle held at the ready as the sound of gunshots continued to echo out from the nearby forest. Glaring at him, she let out a shaking breath laden with fury that only bought her a chuckle from the soldier before he returned his gaze to the man who was speaking to her brother.

_Aiden. _Only a few years older than her, he had inherited her father's hard features, and apparently, his disregard for all things family. He avoided her gaze as the older man next to him spoke softly, and every second she spent attempting to catch his eye only built upon the mountain of frustration and tension she already held within her body. The sounds of boots running in their direction drew everyone to the cause of the noise, a soldier running up the path that ran through the middle of the camp. The newcomer slid to a stop near her brother and the other man, taking a long breath before speaking. "Sir, we got her. They're bringing her in now."

Even as he spoke, she spotted the two soldiers moving up the path, dragging a limp form between them. She recognized the woman instantly, despite the fact her clothing was now torn and stained with blood. The short brown hair was somehow more ragged than ever before, and the bright green eyes that she had always found fascinating were closed. As they approached with her, Olivia spotted the cheek and lip that were split open, and tried to scramble up. Her efforts to rip her hands free failed yet again as she got to her feet, but she ran for the other woman. She almost made it before her head exploded in pain and she was thrown to the ground, catching sight of the man who had been watching her before, the butt of his rifle raised toward her.

Alison's eyes slid open, looking dazed but becoming more aware in every moment after she caught on to the situation. They settled upon her, growing wide as the woman found her feet. With the men holding her fixated upon Olivia, she tore one of her arms free from their grasp, pulling a knife from the belt of the soldier. The man's expression rapidly changed from surprise to complete shock as she buried the blade to it's hilt in his chest, ripping it free to open the throat of the other soldier flanking her.

For a moment, Olivia let the chance of escape appear before her. But it was crushed in an instant as another of the mercenaries kicked the back of Ali's knee, bringing her down where he smashed the butt of his rifle into the back of her head. As the struggle came to a close, the leader of the group strode forward and kicked the knife away from the woman, chuckling as she was hauled up to a kneeling position. "You always were such a scrapper, Alison." His accent was a light dashing of English, and his words brought only a hateful glare from the captive woman. "Where is Graves?"

Despite the man's request being accompanied by him pulling the pistol from his thigh, Olivia watched as the other woman grinned and then laughed. "You seem to like sticking a gun in my face, Corin. Shame I don't play for your team, huh?"

It shocked her that the thief could show such blatant disregard of the danger they were in, and it only served to agitate the man threatening them as he placed the barrel of the gun against his captive's forehead. "Last chance. I have Olivia, I don't need any more leverage to bring Quinn in. Now, where is that coward you call a friend?" Alison's eyes flicked over to Olivia as he spoke, and her grin turned from mocking into one much more sincere before fading into a defiant glare as the woman looked back to the man aiming the weapon at her. Her silence was met with a soft chuckle, and Corin lowered his pistol. "Fine then."

Olivia couldn't see what Corin reached over to pull from her brother's belt, but she saw the way he flinched away from the mercenary leader. Even in the hopeless situation she was in, it amused her to see him so jumpy. _Fucking backstabbing.. _When the older man returned to facing Alison, he was holding a radio, and pressing the button. "Ashlee Graves. I know you can hear me."

Seconds dragged on as static was the only answer, but then a voice came through the device. "Corin, what do you want?"

"I've got two girls here waiting for you. Care to guess who?" The man winked at Alison before his gaze found Olivia. She froze under the look he was giving her, like she was a piece of meat he was pricing before he spoke again. "One of them is Galeforth's girl, and the other is your friend with the pretty little eyes. Give yourself up, and I'll let them live."

On the other end of the radio, it seemed like Ashlee was attempting to find a way out of the situation, and it seemed like a minute passed before he answered, and it had set the man holding the radio on edge as he began to pace back and forth. "Let them go, I'll lay down my weapons once they are free." Alison struggled against the men holding her, but had no luck as Olivia resumed her attempts to slip free, the ropes biting further into her wrists

Corin gripped his pistol tighter, sighing and shaking his head. "You had your chance, Ms. Terra's life is now forfeit. You have thirty minutes until I kill the other." He turned back towards them and raised his gun, firing one shot at the woman glaring up at him. Olivia watched as an spray of blood exploded out of the back of Alison's head, and her body went limp before falling forward to the ground, dropped by the two soldiers who had held her. Twisting the knob on the radio to off, the mercenary looked to his men. "Get ready, he'll be coming. I want patrols scouring the forest for him, and I want him alive."

Screaming against the dirty cloth that gagged her, Olivia tried to rise up before being pushed back by the mercenary near her. Her struggle brought Corin's gaze back upon her, a small smile upon the man's lips. "He'll come for the girl, and me." She didn't suffer long under his eye as the man turned to look at her brother. "I get Graves, then we find your father, and I kill him. As agreed." Aiden finally looked over at her, his gray eyes cold and uncaring as she continued to yell despite the muffled sounds that came out.

* * *

"Corin, we can talk about this." Ashlee held the radio in his hand, his voice shaking with having just been informed that his closest friend was going to be killed. He was crouched behind two trees, straddling the body of the man he had slain to gain this piece of cover that overlooked the clearing below. A single gunshot rang out from the camp he was headed towards, and the rage that found it's way into his chest quickened his breathing as anger grew from nothing to a feeling more intense than he had ever felt. "Corin!"

He threw the radio into the ground, jumping to his feet to slide down the small hill. He could already see the patrols that were scanning the forest for him, one of them advancing right into his path. Sprinting through the trees, he ripped the pistol from it's holster on his chest, skidding to a stop near the two man team before leaning out. The lead man spotted him first, but could not cry out in time as he fired, burying two bullets into the man's skull before focusing on his friend. Three rounds were emptied into the surviving mercenary's chest before a third soldier slammed into him, knocking the weapon away from his hands.

Spinning to meet the new threat, he threw his fury into the fight as his fists flew towards the man. Each hit drove the other back another step as he advanced, not relenting in his assault until he felt arms close about his shoulders from behind, hauling him back from his target. Before he could mount a proper defense, he was set into a choke hold, cutting off his airway as he watched the man he had been beating recover and pull up a radio from his belt. "Try not to kill him. I'll tell Corin." Just as the man raised the device to speak into it, Ashlee felt unconsciousness encroaching upon him before the pressure on his throat was suddenly lifted. Falling forward and coughing as he tried to gulp in as much air as he could, he saw the mercenary with the radio cry out before a hole appeared between his eyes and dropped him to the ground.

Rolling to his back and holding a hand to his neck, Ashlee saw his savior tear the climbing axe from the man's back. Lara was breathing almost as heavily as he was, looking as if she had ran for a long while to get here. She reached down with her free hand to pull him to his feet, almost collapsing into him once he was up. The smell of sweat and blood stung his nose as he caught her, looking her over quickly and finding only a bandage wrapped around her right hand to indicate any new wounds. She dropped her axe, wrapping an arm around him and holding on tightly as her voice sounded out, quiet enough it halted the waves of rage he was bathing in, and he realized that it was not a physical wound that was defeating her. "I'm sorry."

It was as close to vulnerable as he had ever heard her, and when he pulled back from the woman to look her in the eye, he instinctively knew what it was that she was talking about. Searching the trees near them for a few seconds, he saw no signs of his large friend. Everything fell away in that moment, with his arms around the waist of the other. _They can't all be.. _Tightening his hold upon the woman, he was pulled down to his knees by her as he buried his face into her shoulder, feeling like he had been worn away to complete emptiness.

Lara held him, despite the obviously weakened state she was in, saying nothing as she did. It was a minute of no sounds against the silence except the breaths they took to steady themselves. Eventually, Ashlee was left with only one thought on his mind, one mission left to accomplish. _Olivia. _Growling as he pulled himself up to his feet, he helped the woman find her feet before he let her go, moving to retrieve his fallen pistol. Only tossing a glance back to confirm that his companion was gathering her weapons as well, he turned to the direction of Corin's camp, marching off.

The anger returned as quickly as it had faded away, grown only larger in the revelation that Tiane was gone as well. It tried to overwhelm him, to tell him to collapse and take the easy way out from the pain, but he focused it all upon the desire of vengeance. It wasn't long before they came across a dozen bodies that littered the forest floor, the slash wounds evident on many of the corpses telling him enough of who had slaughtered them. Securing the strap on his pistol, he grabbed the rifle slung across his back and brought it to bear, hearing the stomping sounds of boots running towards them.

The sounds came from all around them, and the first patrol appeared from between the trees in the direction they had come from. Three mercenaries, hot on their trail, came into his vision, each of them registering his presence at different rates. The first two barely managed to focus on him before he took them down, squeezing the trigger to let off bursts of three rounds for each of them, leaving only one who slid to the cover of a tree. It left the man exposed to Lara, who had snatched up a weapon off one of the nearby bodies, and she took him down with five shots.

Turning at the sounds of more enemies, he ducked behind the tree next to him, listening as the soldiers drew closer. The first who showed himself got a rifle butt in the face for his eagerness, dropping him to the ground as Ashlee stepped out, aiming at the rest of them. He emptied the entire magazine into the next four who followed, joined by Lara, who did the same. Dropping the useless rifle, he pulled his pistol and took aim at the man on the ground at his feet, killing him with the last round in his clip.

Ejecting the spent magazine, he slid a fresh one in before pulling the slide back on the weapon, pausing only to bend and collect the rifle of the man he had just killed before continuing towards the objective. He broke out of the treeline, seeing a lack of the same security that had presented itself only two nights before. The floodlights were no longer manned, and no guards patrolled the perimeter. Lara emerged behind him, looking surprised as he was at the ease of their infiltration. Keeping a wary eye on the tents that lay before him, he followed the path that led further into the encampment.

It didn't take long before he spotted her, face down in the dirt and barely illuminated by the fading sun. A pool of blood lay underneath her, it's source more than apparent from where he stood. Moving forward, he took the last few steps before falling to his knees beside Ali's corpse, closing his eyes as the last sliver of hope he had allowed himself was stripped away. "Graves, glad you could make it in time."

The voice, which had seemed so mocking through the radio, was now full of pride as he looked over at the speaker. The last time he had seen Jacob Corin, he had been on a boat heading in, but it was only now that he could really make out the differences that six years made. Hair that had once been streaked with gray was now completely absent of any darker color, and the lines in the man's face had only grown larger. But his eyes, a cold steel blue, remained the same as they had in the Incan temple, back in Chile. They were the eyes of a predator, of an animal with no other goal than to devour those beneath him on the food chain.

Ashlee rose slowly, gripping his weapon until he thought the metal would actually cut through the skin of his palm. Corin stood beside Olivia Galeforth, who was on her knees, bound and gagged. The expression upon her face surprised him, fully expecting the young woman to be crying. Instead, she held a look that told him of her anger at the situation, and it's source stood on the other side of the man who had executed Alison. Aiden, loosely holding the pistol he had left behind for the siblings in the first cave they had come across, had a smug smile upon his face.

Three other mercenaries stood near their leader, two with their weapons leveled in Ashlee's direction while the third held the girl he had come to save. He took a step towards them, but Corin stopped him by pressing the barrel of a gun to the temple of his captive, shaking his head. "Uh uh, drop it, boy."

Staying the rising tide of anger at the sight of the older man, he let go of the rifle before raising his hands. It landed with a clatter, and from the corner of his eye, he could see that Lara still had her pistol raised toward their enemies. "Don't hurt her, Corin. She's not the one you want." The mercenary laughed, and Ashlee saw the look in his eye, the same glint he had caught back in that temple. He did not hesitate, ripping his own gun from it's holster and firing as soon as it's barrel was facing the soldier holding Olivia.

* * *

Lara wasted no time in opening fire at the two men aiming rifles in her and Ashlee's direction, taking them out with most of the rounds she had remaining before she focused upon the two men who were still alive. Their volley had driven Corin back, and Olivia had rolled towards them as soon as the shooting had started. Keeping her gun leveled in the direction the old man had been in, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

Through the rows of tents, she saw Aiden Galeforth sprinting away from them. Holstering her pistol, she gave chase, hearing no protests from the man she had journeyed into the camp with. The son of the man who had hired her was quick, more fit than she had given him credit for, but he was no match for her speed. She caught up near a bluff that overlooked the beach she had originally washed up on, tackling into him. They rolled towards the ledge, stopping just shy of the edge and affording her a long look of the rocks below.

Aiden was atop her, resisting her attempts to throw him over as he pulled away. Once the advantage was firmly in his hands, he began to punch past her lowered defenses, striking her in the stomach twice before scrambling up and off of her. Dazed by the hits, Lara attempted to follow, managing to get to her hands and knees for a second before a kick connected into her side. The ground seemed to slip away beneath her as she was flung off of the small cliff, flailing in the air in an attempt to get any hold on the side of the hill. Her hands found no purchase, and she slammed into the rocks jutting up from the ground below, darkness rising up to swallow her in an instant.

* * *

Pulling Olivia to her feet, Ashlee felt her shudder as she fell against him. He scanned the area before raising his free hand to pull the dirty gag from the young woman's mouth, letting it drop about her neck. She choked back a sob, her hands grasping at his shirt as she spoke. "A-Ali.."

"I know." Draping an arm across the girl's back, he kept her on her feet as he moved back, keeping his pistol up and aimed in the direction Corin had fled. They made it past the first tent when he caught sight of the older man charging them. He adjusted his aim as quickly as he could, firing off one shot before the mercenary slammed into them. All three of them went down into a pile, and Ashlee lost his hold on the gun as he rolled up to his knees after the dust settled.

The first punch was expected, and he deflected it with his left arm as he stood, throwing his weight behind a fist into Corin's ribs. The force of the blow shoved the attacker back, causing him to stumble before regaining his balance and letting out a low chuckle. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, Graves."

"Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind." He growl the words at the other man before rushing him, ducking under the blows and wrapping his arms about the man's waist in order to use his momentum to drive the man to the ground. Corin was experienced enough to know where to hit in order to throw him off balance, connecting in the jaw just as he leaned back to deliver his first punch. The old soldier didn't slow, the next hit colliding into the side of his head and throwing him off of his target.

Ashlee attempted to get a defense up, but wasn't prepared for Corin rising up and bringing a knee into him. It knocked him to the side, where a kick was delivered into his ribs hard enough it knocked the breath from his chest. He saw the other man's knee hit the ground next to him, just before a fist was drove in his back to slam him into the ground. Without letting it deter him, he scrambled away from the onslaught, clawing into the ground to pull himself closer to what he sought.

He ran his hands over the clothing that dressed Alison's body, finding purchase on what he was looking for just under the top of her left boot. Ripping the knife free from it's enclosure, he turned and slashed at the approaching mercenary, creating a gash from the man's elbow to his wrist. Crying out as he back away, the soldier took one look at his arm before grinning and drawing a blade of his own from it's place on his belt. Ashlee ran at him, reversing the grip on his weapon before slashing at the man's chest. His blow was blocked, but he caught the wrist that attempted to deliver a counter attack, pulling it wide before stabbing downward.

Corin broke free of his grasp, knocking his attack away before slashing at his exposed face. The tip of the blade cut through his brow and the cheek as he tore himself away from the soldier, stumbling back before pressing a hand to the gash that now traveled through his right eye. His palm came away wet with blood, but the pain was dulled as he glared at the older man. Screaming in rage, he charged again, his wild attack easily pushed aside as his nemesis grasped and twisted the arm that held his knife. He felt the blade fall from unwilling fingers before a punch was delivered to his back, then a kick to his knee, driving him down to the ground.

The old soldier was on him in an instant, and Ashlee only barely managed to get his hands up to slow the descending knife. Pushing back against it, he saw Corin place his other hand on the pommel of the weapon, driving it slowly downward until it's tip was only an inch from his chest. Crying out in defiance, he tried to summon what strength he had remaining, his efforts wasted as the end drew nearer. The sounds of their struggle was broken by a gunshot, ringing out and echoing for a few moments before dying away. Corin's eyes went wide, traveling down to his side, where a new hole was leaking blood.

Ashlee used the distraction to bring his knee up between him and the man atop him, forcing him away as he tossed a glance toward where the shot had come from. Olivia was holding the pistol he had dropped when they had been tackled, the ropes that had bound her hands now dangling from her left wrist, her right visibly raw and bloodied from the effort. She advanced with the gun raised, stepping past him and towering over the old mercenary who was clutching his side and staring up at her from where he knelt. Corin's eyes narrowed into a glare, and there was utter silence before she pulled the trigger again. The round blew out the back of his skull, throwing his body back onto the ground.

* * *

Lara's eyes fluttered open, the flare of agony beckoning her back to the world of the living as her chest threatened to crush itself against the pain. Rising to a sitting position brought a cry from her lips, and she saw that the sky was now dashed with a display of reds and yellows as night drew closer. Her vision darkened as she fell forward onto her hands and knees, the rocks beneath her cutting into the skin that slid against them. She refused to fall into the tempting embrace of unconsciousness, her hand grasping at the empty holster on her hip before she spotted the flash of silver in the sand a dozen feet away.

Panting as she willed her body to stand, she stumbled the first step towards the pistol, nearly falling to her knees again before straightening. Each step became a bit easier as she took them, finding that the pain was easy to shove aside after these last few days. It was just as it had been on Yamatai, each injury adding to how well she could shrug them off and continue on. Her hand moved unwillingly, slipping into the pocket of her trousers and letting her fingers touch the frayed edges of the photo contained within. It summoned up the same will that had pushed her forward up that mountain, as the storm had raged all around her as she climbed towards the ritual Mathias was trying to perform. _Sam.._

Nearing the gun, she looked down at the design that was as familiar as an old friend, holding a hand to her ribs as she prepared herself for bending to pick it up. Lara screamed as something slammed into her back, bringing a new excruciating agony that lanced throughout her entire body as she felt a hand close about her shoulder before a blade slid free of her back. It was a pain she was too well acquainted with to ever forget, knowing just where the enemy had stabbed her; right through the scar tissue that adorned her left side. She fell forward and tried to roll away, coming to her knees a few feet away from the pistol that had been her objective.

Looking up, she saw Aiden, panting with a glare etched into his features. The knife in his hand was dripping with blood, her blood, that covered his hand as he sniffed. "Why are you doing this?" The question didn't seem to surprise him, as he scoffed and shook his head.

"You wouldn't understand. You, or Graves." The man chuckled as she clutched her side, feeling the wound leak out and begin running down the back of her pants. "My father always had a favorite son, see? The one who would do his dirty work for him. But, I think I've done a good job proving I can do what's necessary, wouldn't you say?"

"What about your sister?" Lara spoke through gritted teeth, struggling up to her feet again. By the time she straightened, it felt like her side would rip completely open and let what was left of her spill out to dry upon the sand.

"Olivia? Far too sentimental for my tastes. Corin's probably already finished with her and Graves, so why don't you just give up?" Aiden advanced on her, tossing the knife between his hands before settling it back into his left as she glared at him. It was hard to focus, as so many thoughts tried to break their way in to the center of her mind.

_Sam's in my arms, and I'm carrying her down the mountain. The sun has just dawned on Yamatai, breaking through the storm that Himiko created. I look down and the hair slides away from her face, revealing the lightly tanned skin beneath it. It makes my heart beat twice as fast, the look she gives me._

He was close, and she knew that she had to defend herself or die in the next few moments.

_I'm lying in a hospital bed, the painkillers dulling most of the agony I should be in. Doctors are telling Sam I shouldn't have survived, and she looks over at me with a worried expression. I want to laugh, I want to smile, and let her know that everything was going to be okay. I want to, but I know I'm barely holding on as it is._

Aiden has stepped past the pistol, the expression on his face telling Lara that he would enjoy an up close kill.

_She tackles me back into my bed, her lips finding mine the middle of the chaos in a way that lets me know how long she has yearned for this. I grab her waist and roll us so I'm on top, so I can take control of the situation and demand from her what I've wanted since I saw her watching me on the boat after we escaped the island._

He steps in front of her moving to stab at her, and she sees the knife traveling toward her stomach.

_Ashlee looks over at me from across the table, as I am stumped with the question of what the symbol present on both the tablet and the scroll means. A smile spreads over his lips, the same he had worn when I opened the door, the same he had worn when he looked across the bar to me in the Nine Bells._

Lara caught his wrist with her right hand, using her left to turn the blade around while keeping it firmly grasped in his palm. She uses the force he put into the strike to drive it back into his stomach. Aiden's body jerked from the blow, his eyes going wide as the pain found him. Growling, she ripped it out before slamming it back into the man. This time, his hands fell away and he tried to push her away, his weak attempts finding no purchase as she drew the blade back out again, flipping it's grip as he fell to his knees.

He looked up at her, his mouth opening and his hand rising as if he was about to plead for his life. It didn't cross her mind to even listen to the request as she brought the weapon down into his chest, his words coming out in a desperate gurgle. Letting the hilt go, she let him fall backwards onto the sand, still struggling to cling to life as she stumbled past him, falling to her knees beside the pistol. Aiden's sounds of movement ceased after a few seconds, and she tore her gaze from the gun to the bluff, remembering the man's words about Corin killing his younger sister, and Ashlee. It looked so much taller than it had before, rising up to barricade her way back to the mercenary encampment. Her fingers closed about the grip of the pistol, and she fought to get back to her feet.

_You can do it, Lara. _Her thoughts mirrored the words Roth had once said to her, when she had feared the conflict ahead on Yamatai. They had guided her through the hell of that island, the first days of recovery, and now they had arrived to remind her of how her mentor had spent the last moments of his life. _You're a Croft, dammit, get up there and save them before you bleed out. _Slipping the pistol back into it's holster, she reached for the climbing axe Ashlee had given her, that first night on Aurelion. Raising it proved too much for the bruised muscles of her arm, announcing that she had landed on more than just her back from the fall off the cliff. It dropped to the ground below, and she followed, succumbing to her injuries and collapsing into the sand.


	12. Chapter 10 - Wounds

**Author's Note: This is the end, the final chapter for The Ashes of Time. Enjoy, my friends. -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 10

**-Wounds-**

_**NRV Serenader, Northern Pacific Ocean**_

_**April, 2014**_

The flare of the sun above was the first thing she became aware of, it's light causing her eyelids to glow a bright red instead of providing the darkness she thought they would. Her attempts to move her hands, to push herself to a position she could actually see what was happening around her, were unsuccessful. Pain still lanced through her body, producing an unwilling groan from her lips as she caught the sounds of quiet voices. "How is she?"

"Bad. She needs actual medical care, and soon.." It was all she could manage to hear before the familiar feeling of unconsciousness returned.

* * *

When Lara's eyes fluttered open, she was greeted by the sight of walls painted in white, and not the island she had expected. It didn't take long before she realized she was in an infirmary, with the subtle rocking motion telling her it was on a ship. Without putting much thought into what she was doing, she steadied an elbow on the cot and pushed herself up, only to find that her side was attempting to split itself open. It was only after the pain died away and she quit growling that she felt the hand upon her shoulder that had pressed her back into the soft mattress. "Hey, take it easy. We're safe." Looking over while she took several heavy breaths to calm the agony traveling from her lower back, she saw the wide gray eyes that were watching her with no small amount of concern.

It was Olivia, her face washed from the dirt that had clung to it the last time Lara had seen her. Scanning the younger woman's body for any wounds revealed that both of her wrists were wrapped in a bandage, the white cloth stained a light pink. She let her eyes drift past the other, looking over the rest of the room only to find it empty. "Gr.. Graves?"

Her voice was quiet, the weakness she felt throughout her body becoming more than apparent as she spoke. The other woman bit her lip for a moment, her expression changing from concern to something similar and yet, different. "He's alive, don't worry."

"Wh- Where..?" Her attempts to form the question caused Olivia to lay a hand on her arm, silencing her.

"We're on a NATO ship that responded to the emergency beacon. You've been out for a couple days since we found you.. Um, on the beach." Even with her mental state currently impaired by the painkillers that were in her system, she noticed the pause in the woman's speech, and knew what it was, what she would have found just a few feet from where Lara had collapsed.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could do to force the words out before her chest heaved in a fit, each cough bringing a new pang of agony. It faded after a few moments, while she focused on not meeting the gaze of her companion and instead tried to take a long, normal breath.

"He made his choice." It brought her eyes to the woman, who shook her head. "I don't blame you, Lara. I just wish I.. There should have been something I could have seen earlier." She moved to take Olivia's hand, but her right arm wouldn't respond to her request, so she settled on the left. Squeezing gently, she just shook her head, hoping it would convey the words she couldn't find the strength to say. It seemed to calm her, as she cracked a small smile and stood. "I'll go get Ashlee, alright?" Lara was left holding empty air as her hand fell back to the cot, watching her companion leave.

* * *

Olivia barely made it out of the infirmary door before collapsing into the wall, feeling the need to cry rising up for what had to be the thousandth time in the last couple of days. The tears didn't come as she fought against it, finding the battle in her favor for the first time. One of the crewmen wandered by, drawing her gaze as he nodded, glancing at her in a pitying way. _Oh, fuck you._

She shook her head before pushing off of the wall and moving down the long corridor. The way to where she was going was far too familiar to her after the day or so they had spent aboard the ship, as it was the only route she ever walked, between Lara and where she knew the man she sought would be standing. Stepping out onto the deck after climbing a flight of stairs, she saw him looking down at the waves rolling by, and called out when she drew near. "..Ashlee?" From where she stood, she could see the pistol still held in it's holster across his chest, as well as it's twin. The second weapon was strapped to his hip, looking as if it belonged there. But, no reaction came from the man she was speaking too, so she tried again. "Ashlee."

He looked over after that, and she felt her eyes widen in surprise, as they did most time she saw him now. A scowl was almost permanently set into his features, and the gash the mercenary had placed through his right eye only enhanced it. It had still not been taken care of, despite how many times she had told him to talk to one of the medics aboard. "What?" His voice sounded off to her, not the same charming thief she had once begged to let her join him on his adventures. _Then again, everything's different now. _

She realized she was staring at him and glanced away, gesturing back the way she had came. "Uh, Lara's awake. You should go see her." She had spent the last decade hearing stories from her father's employees about Ashlee Graves, the man who could do things that any lesser person couldn't. But now, in the way that scowl slipped away and relief showed through, she realized just how vulnerable a legend actually was.

* * *

"Graves." The word was spoken softly, barely above the volume of a whisper, as he turned away from the small cot in the infirmary. It brought him back around, finding that Lara was indeed awake, looking up at him with a look in her eyes that he was sure mirrored his own. Sliding down into the chair near the bed, he let out a chuckle brought on by sheer relief as he took her hand gently.

Taking in a deep breath, he raised his gaze to meet her's once again. "You had me scared for a second, Croft. Thought I was going to have to tell Sam and that.. That would've been a nightmare." Her lips twitched upwards for a moment as she tried to laugh at his weak joke, but she couldn't seem to manage more than that as he quickly changed the subject. "So, docs say you're going to be alright. It'll take a bit of recovery, but you'll make it back to her."

"Never doubted it.." It was his turn to grin as she spoke, sounding both out of strength, and out of breath. "You did promise.. After all."

"Yeah, I did." He let out another chuckle, the losses they had suffered in the last week seeming far away in the moment, but the question that had burned in the back of his mind since he had found her face down in the sand made it's move. "Did you find the reason for the voices and all the.. Insane shit?"

Lara gave a slow nod, her lips settling into a frown for a moment as she seemed to think back, but it quickly transformed into a small smile as she looked up as him. "I found the treasure, too."

* * *

_**Marble Cemetery, New York**_

_**May, 2014**_

Ashlee took in a deep breath as he laid the flower upon the raised mound of dirt. It was a bouquet of white lilies, the same kind that his friend had once told him were her favorite. Dragging his eyes up from the blossoms to the granite of the headstone. _Alison Terra. _There had been no family to call, and no one but him to attend the burial of his three companions. Fang and Tiane's graves flanked the one he crouched by, the last testaments to those he had lost on the island. Laying his hand gently atop the stone, he rose to his feet, closing his eyes. He was never one for religion, or any discussion involving a world past the one he could see before him, but he found himself wishing that there was something, anything else out there. Something better.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the young woman who approached him from behind, only noticing her when her fingers slid over his palm before entwining between his own. She leaned on him, laying her head against his shoulder as she softly posed a question. "Are you going to be okay, Ashlee?"

He let out a short, breathy laugh at the sound of his name, drawing her curious gaze. "Lesley."

Meeting her eyes with a small smile, he saw one of her eyebrows rise up in confusion. "What?"

"That's my name.. My real one; Lesley Raines."

Olivia smiled, nodding after a few seconds. "I like it." The woman rose up on the balls of her feet to press her lips against his for a brief moment, pulling away with a light blush coloring her cheeks. He smirked before returning his gaze to the graves before them, bowing his head. _Goodbye._

Turning away from the freshly disturbed patches of earth, he glanced in the direction his companion had come from, seeing the guests from that funeral dispersing quickly. Despite what he had done, Aiden Galeforth was now buried next to his father, both of them laid to rest by the daughter of the man who had been his employer. He made a mental note to visit the grave, but not now, not in a moment like this one. "So, how did it go with the museum yesterday, are they interested?"

"They are willing to pay top dollar for the collection of scrolls, but they'll need to be translated." Olivia looked at him as he let out a quiet laugh, causing him to grin as he met her gaze.

"I think I know just the person for that."

* * *

_**Sam and Lara's Flat, London**_

_**May, 2014**_

Sam shook her hips in tune to the music, moving the sizzling pan from the stove to a hot pad set on the counter top. It had been almost three weeks since Lara had walked out the door, promising her that she would be back, and it had been torture since then. Her trip to see Reyes had done nothing to dissuade her from thinking that something horrible had happened every moment she let her mind wander. Sometimes she found herself imagining what the homecoming would be like. Would it be awkward, after the way they had left it, or would she be greeted with a kiss as passionate as the one she had been left with?

Biting her lip against the blush that heated her face as she fell into the memory, she didn't hear the door close as she scraped a spatula across the pan, and she wasn't aware that someone else was in the apartment before she turned around. The plate in her hands, holding the eggs she had just scrambled, fell to the floor and shattered, spilling the food in every direction as her jaw dropped. With her brown hair done up in the same ponytail she always always, the woman in the doorway to their living room was staring at her as if searching for what to say.

Lara was wearing her leather jacket, although it now displayed more wear and tear than Sam remembered. There were stitches present above the woman's right eye, closing a gash that extended from the woman's temple to the end of her eyebrow. She was breathing strangely, too, as if each inhale caused her pain. "..Hey." The soft-spoken word assured Sam of the only thing that truly mattered in the moment: Lara was alive, and she was home. Rushing forward, she was caught in the other woman's arms as she wrapped her own about the slim neck, embracing her warmly. "Ow."

Despite being said in an almost sarcastic tone, it made her pull back from the other, blinking away the happy tears that were beginning to form on her lashes. "Sorry! I'm-" She didn't get a chance to apologize further as Lara's lips met her's in a way that banished away all doubts of what was left for them and their relationship. Her girlfriend had dropped the duffel bag, and was now firmly caught in her grasp as she pulled her back towards the bedroom. Her knees collided with the edge of the bed, and she took Lara down with her, leaving them both giggling as their lips separated.

* * *

With her chest rising and falling rapidly in an attempt to resupply her body with the oxygen it had lost in the fiery exchange, Lara grinned down at the other woman, trying to think of the perfect phrase to fill the moment. Something teasing, but seductive enough it would lead to the homecoming they both clearly wanted. The train of thought was interrupted as a pop song rang out from a pocket she was straddling, bringing a sigh as Sam pulled the cellphone free from it's enclosure. Pressing the button to answer the call, the other woman tried to quiet her panting before she answered. "..Hello?"

The look Lara gave the girl beneath her brought on a blush so cute it should have been illegal as she placed both hands on either side of the woman's head. Her attempts at teasing faded away as soon as Sam blinked and held the phone out to her, causing her to don an incredulous expression before the other woman informed her who it was on the other line by mouthing the words. _It's Ashlee._

Sighing, Lara took it from her, pressing it to her ear as she felt Sam reach down and hook her fingers on the waist of her pants. With a groan of utter frustration, she closed her eyes and attempted to concentrate. "This had better be damn good, Graves."

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope I ended it in a way that doesn't leave you guys dissatisfied. I'd like to thank all of you who followed and favorited, and a special thanks to those of you who deigned to leave a review. You guys are all awesome, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading through this story. I might return to do a one-shot or something if there is enough interest(Because Lara and Ashlee make a fun team to write), but as it stands my attention will be spent on other stories. Anywho, leave a review with your thoughts on the story if the mood so strikes. -Fox**

* * *

_I see signs now all the time  
__That you're not dead you're sleeping  
__I believe in anything that brings you back  
__Home to me_

_- "Signs" by Bloc Party_

**-Epitaph to the Fallen-**

_**Liu Fang – Aged 27 – 1987 - 2014**_

_**Quinn Galeforth – Aged 53 – 1961 - 2014**_

_**Tiane – Aged 35 – 1979 - 2014**_

_**Atlantian Commander – Aged ? – ? - 2014**_

_**Alison Terra – Aged 32 – 1982 - 2014**_

_**Jacob Corin – Aged 59 – 1955 - 2014**_

_**Aiden Galeforth – Aged 26 – 1988 - 2014**_

_**A tribute to the seriously huge amounts of unnamed mercenaries, Atlantians, and Relentless Gale crew members that were harmed in the writing of this story.**_


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